DRO and bank frozen help?

kmt1235

I started the process for a DRO last week. They advised me to open a new bank account as my overdraft with Halifax would be listed in the DRO so my current account could possibly be frozen or closed.
I applied for a new bank account with First Direct on Friday 19th April, I didnt hear anything back until Tues 23rd, and have only got my new bank card today so have been unable to start the switching process until now.
In the meantime, I signed the final application for the DRO on Monday 22nd, and although they say it can take 10 days for a decision, it was accepted by Weds 24th. 
So basically the DRO went through too fast and the new bank account went through too slow, and due to this my current account with Halifax is now frozen as of today. There was £50 left over and I cannot get access to this now.
I am due to be paid on Tues 30th into this account, I am worried beyond belief that I will not be able to gain access to my money on Tues or that Halifax will just keep the money, I need it to pay bills and live. 
I have emailed my payroll office but I doubt they will be able to do anything in time, I cannot call as its a big company so they deal through emails only. 
I have called Halifax and due to their call centre being out of this country they had no idea what a DRO even was and it took over an hour of being passed from person to person to basically be told I just need to bring the letter of proof into the branch to see what they are able to do (which I will do tomorrow morning), I asked if they could just redirect the payment but I didnt get anywhere with that. 

Can they keep my money? Where do I stand with all of this? And what are the chances of me actually being able to receive my wages on Tuesday. Thank you

fatbelly

You've declared insolvency and listed Halifax as a debt in that. 

I'm as surprised as you that it all happened so quickly. Was it Money Wellness?

You need to put pressure on your finance dept not to make that payment.

As long as the payment is less than the debt I cannot see Halifax doing anything other than keeping it.

kmt1235

Yes it was through Money Wellness, I thought the whole process would take a few weeks but only took a matter of days! 

Im just worried they will not see the email in time, I have flagged it as high importance but I dont know what else I am to do as they dont have a number to call. 

The payment coming in is much more than the debt, I’m expecting they will keep what is owed for the debt which Im assuming I wont be able to do much about although its listed in the DRO, but Im just worried I wont be able to access the rest of my funds which I really need. 

fatbelly

They must return the excess to you.

It is good to have email evidence that you were not doing this willingly as the Insolvency Service might investigate.

I knew it would be MW as we now (thanks to MAPS' incompetence) have two major providers of DROs who are taking entirely different approaches. One too strict and one too lax.

sourcrates

Halifax were really on the ball with this one, I would not have expected them to act that quickly, banks usually are very slow to respond to anything.

But your situation just goes to highlight why its so important to be proactive and forward thinking when arranging any kind of insolvency, have your new account all set up and ready to go before you even discuss insolvency with anyone.

I would go into branch, speak to a manager, and try to impress on them that without this money you will experience hardship, call handlers knowledge on British insolvency laws is extremely limited to say the least, face to face you have at least a chance of getting access to your wages.

fatbelly

Money Wellness could have communicated better.

'We will be submitting your application today and they are usually accepted on the next working day.'

When I did DROs I always pressed the submit button after doing the declarations with the client on the phone. Then I confirmed the submission had gone through.

You have to give the client chance to tell you any last thing that might be relevant.

Sadly, no-one seems to work like that now.

kmt1235

Yes it went through so fast, really unexpectedly, and the new bank came through a lot slower unfortunately. 

I have managed to contact the Payroll office at work and unfortunately its too late on their side. 

I went to a Halifax branch on Saturday morning and they tried to call the Insolvency Service but they were closed so I will need to go back tomorrow morning to try and sort it.

Although - I had someone send me £1 to the Halifax account to 'test' it, and it bounced back - does this mean that the payment from my work is likely to be bounced back too?

fatbelly

Quite possibly- depends how Halifax have set up their systems.

There is no requirement for them to block inward payments but if they have done, then that works for you!

kmt1235

I'm crossing everything I have that they have blocked incoming payments!! 🤞🏻

JonVarnas

So, what happened?

kmt1235

Looking at my Halifax app, no payment has gone in thankfully, but on my works side the money hasn't come back to them yet either. So I'm not 100% sure where the money is and when/if I will be getting it. If anyone has any experience of payments bouncing back and how long the process usually takes I would be grateful!