Discovered (by accident) BIL is bankrupt. Do I tell SIL?

[PoppyWoods]

Part of my job is to check the insolvency register. It's a public register, freely accessible to all.

I put in various names, mine, my parents, my sisters and brothers, not expecting to find anything. Anyway to my horror I discovered my BIL was declared bankrupt 3 months ago. It's definitely him as it lists full name, address and dob.

My SIL has never mentioned it. We're fairly close and she's disclosed very personal things to me in the past, so I'm wondering if she even knows. Is it even possible that he could go through the process and her be totally unaware?

My dilemma is, do I tell her or not? What if she doesn't know? What if she does know and she's so mortified she hasn't told anyone? What if she accuses me of snooping and interfering?

I honestly don't know what I do with this information (if anything). Appreciate your thoughts

Surely if your job in real life is to check for insolvency then you must have had training or have some knowledge of the process and whether or not spouses are made aware

@DominicRaabsTravelAgent

Is it even possible to become bankrupt without your spouse knowing?

Of course it is. If someone is petitioned for bankruptcy, they don’t ask for the whole family to attend.

For those who are saying it’s a data breach, it’s not, it’s a matter fir public record and anyone can look up that information.

OP, do you know if they own their home and do they have DC? I think that those would be my deciding factors in telling her as the Trustee in Bankruptcy could force the sale of the property if he doesn’t comply.

They jointly own their home.

He's got previous for secret gambling debts.

@FleasInMyKnees

Do you mean your sister, not your SIL. You snooped, she may or may not know. If she asks for your help then be there for her, if not keep out of it.

I believe that SIL is the OP's partner's sister and the BIL is SIL's DH. So OP feels a displaced sense of duty to SIL who is a blood relative of OP's DH, when in fact out of kindness and respect she should leave well alone.

Going against the grain, it would worry me and I think I would want to say something to her. Obviously that makes me a horrible, awful, spiteful nosy cow according to some posters, but... meh. I suspect the answers might be different if you'd found him on Tinder or something OP.

Completely agree with Delphigirl OP.

@FleasInMyKnees

Surely if your job in real life is to check for insolvency then you must have had training or have some knowledge of the process and whether or not spouses are made aware

Nope, I just need to periodically check that people in certain roles have not become insolvency or a disqualified director.

Have no clue around the insolvency process

Of course SIL knows. They don’t talk about it for whatever reason – privacy, embarrassment … it’s their business. Keep your mouth shut. You didn’t discover this by accident: you were deliberately putting people’s names in to see what you could find. There may be no data breach, but surely if you are at work you should be doing the work that you are getting paid for, rather than snooping into other people’s financial situations.

he's got previous for secret gambling debts, not so secret if you know all about them.

Nope, I just need to periodically check that people in certain roles have not become insolvency or a disqualified director.

Why check family though?

Appalling, disgraceful, nosey spying. I'm shocked that you thought that this was ok.

PS What exact link was it? This one doesn't seem to work.
www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/eiir/

They jointly own their home. He's got previous for secret gambling debts

In that case I’d tell her. How you’d do that I don’t know but I’ve known people to bury their head so much that they don’t even tell their spouse that the bailiffs are coming to evict them that day.

I'd put money on people who are on this thread sitting in judgment and tutting at you, OP, going on the insolvency register tonight and checking the names of some of their nearest and dearest (not that they'd ever admit it!).

Will she acknowledge that though @ThisBeTheName

so all you are supposed to do at work is check for insolvency and disqualified Directors and report back to your manager, not spend time looking up various members of your family and then posting about it on social media.

@MurielSpriggs Someone posted it on the front page.

@thecognoscenti

I'd put money on people who are on this thread sitting in judgment and tutting at you, OP, going on the insolvency register tonight and checking the names of some of their nearest and dearest (not that they'd ever admit it!).

Yes but will they be doing it "by accident"? As the OP apparently did?

I'd put money on people who are on this thread sitting in judgment and tutting at you, OP, going on the insolvency register tonight and checking the names of some of their nearest and dearest (not that they'd ever admit it!)

If they jointly owned their house, they can transfer it to her sole ownership so they don't have to give up his half.

So chances are that she does know.

I suppose by accident she meant “didn’t really expect to find anything” 🤷🏻‍♀️ I can’t get excited about this at all. It’s no worse than looking up someone in the phone book or on Twitter or LinkedIn or companies house. I sometimes Google people I was at school with (usually when I’m down an insomniac wormhole at 3am) to see if I can see what they’re up to now.