Trustee trying to IPA me post-discharge

FrankSpentSir

I'm about to respond to a letter from my trustee that's attempting to put an IPA in place despite me being discharged a few weeks ago and I wondered if anyone has any thoughts before I write the letter.

In the 5th month of my bankruptcy the trustee apparently sent me a letter with a request for income/expenditure details - I didn't get the letter. They didn't write to me again until almost 4 months later, at which point I immediately returned the income/expenditure details. Again, things moved very slowly and I finally heard from them again in month 11 of my bankruptcy when they requested that I start paying 100% of the £150 surplus. Stupidly I hadn't read the OR's documents that indicate they should've been asking for only 50% of the surplus, so I just asked the trustee for bank account details with the intention of setting up a standing order. To date I've been sent nothing that states I agree to the IPA. The trustee took just under a month to reply to my request for bank account details and in the meantime my discharge date came and went.

Both the OR's office and County Court confirm I've been discharged without any application being made to extend my bankruptcy in lieu of the IPA that the trustee is still apparently trying to put in place.

The trustee has clearly been dragging their feet throughout my case, and missing my discharge date seems to me to be pretty fair grounds to suggest that they should go and read the Insolvency Act 1986 which states that IPAs/IPOs must be in place before discharge.

Would like to hear your thoughts/experiences on this?

Thanks.

NekoZombie

I'll be interested in watching the developments on this; I was under the impression that they could reverse your discharge if they felt they had good cause to do so. Certainly if you haven't signed anything or seen any official paperwork then I'm not sure they can hold you to anything....

I'll be interested to see what others think...

FrankSpentSir

I'm just a bit hesitant about how to word the letter - although I want to believe the Insolvency Act's wording is on my side here (i.e. that IPA's need to be completed before discharge), after getting as far as being discharged I don't want any more trouble.

Thoughts, anyone?

blind-as-a-bat_2

If you have not signed an IPA before your AD date then its tough

Is your trustee the same as your OR? or is it a seperate organisation

blind-as-a-bat_2

NekoZombie wrote: »

I'll be interested in watching the developments on this; I was under the impression that they could reverse your discharge if they felt they had good cause to do so. Certainly if you haven't signed anything or seen any official paperwork then I'm not sure they can hold you to anything....

I'll be interested to see what others think...

They could only suspend AD if the BR was uncoperative, which doesnt sound to be the case here so i doubt they would get a judge to suspend or reverse it as it sounds like its there mistake

Addicted2Chocolate

Your Trustee has missed the boat. They cannot get a valid IPA before discharge. And they cannot get an IPO now either, they shoudl have made an application for an IPO before your discharge. This is from the insolvency service technical manual:
31.7.43 Consent of bankrupt to the IPA
Once the official receiver/trustee has agreed with the bankrupt the amount to be collected under the IPA, the bankrupt's consent to the agreed IPA should be obtained in writing at the earliest opportunity, remembering that the IPA can only be entered in to prior to discharge and is only valid where it is both signed by the bankrupt and the official receiver/trustee prior to discharge (see paragraph 31.7.2) [note 3] [note 4] [note 5].

I would reply stating that you have obtained your discharge from bankruptcy and that you do not intend to sign an IPA. They wont be able to do anything about it.

FrankSpentSir

blind-as-a-bat wrote: »

If you have not signed an IPA before your AD date then its tough

Is your trustee the same as your OR? or is it a seperate organisation

No, the trustee is an appointed insolvency practitioner. They've been really bad on the communication front throughout my bankruptcy - worst case being the four months that elapsed before they followed up their request for an income/expenditure statement that I never received, and then more recently taking just under a month to respond to my request for the bank account to pay into - my discharge date came and went during that time, hence the dilemma I'm now facing about what to do next!

FrankSpentSir

Addicted2Chocolate wrote: »

I would reply stating that you have obtained your discharge from bankruptcy and that you do not intend to sign an IPA. They wont be able to do anything about it.

That's what I'm thinking as well - it's not me that's dragged my feet here, it's the trustee. I'm amazed that they've let the discharge date sail by like this.

blind-as-a-bat_2

That figures:rolleyes: there are a couple of cses i have seen where a trustee has tried to get an IPA where one didnt apply and also collecting money where no IPa had been signed.

It seems some trustees dont seem to know the rules or think they dont appply to them As ADC has confimed its too late now so just tell them so

fermi

I was reading somewhere a while back that the OR/trustee can apply to the court to undo the discharge if they feel that the BR has deliberately not cooperated.

But that isn't the case here. If they tried it, then the trustee would have to explain their own incompetence and I can't imagine that the court would have much sympathy.

In other words, I agree. Tough, it's too late.;)

FrankSpentSir

The other inconsistency with the trustee is that they made no reference at all to the sliding scale of percentages that's mentioned in the Insolvency Service literature regarding the amount you should pay in an IPA. My surplus is £150 and they were asking me for 100% of it despite the literature saying that at that level of surplus they should only have been asking for 50%.