Offical Reciever Interview After Bankruptcy

[dmm1982]

Hi Guys,

Just after some advice in regards to my Offical Reciever Interview. I have recently decided to declare Bankruptcy due to a large amount of debt around £24000.00, around £22000.00 of this was from 2003-2005 from a personal loan I took out when I was in a very well Paid job, due to illness over the past years finances have struggled alot, I defaulted on this debt and therefore my credit rating has been affected,I only have a basic bank account in which I have had for years, Stupidly over the past year I have tookpayday advances out and am in payment plans in regards to these around £1200.00. I have a date for my bankruptcy but am terrified of the OR interview, I have had to close my basic bank account down to stopthe payday companies raiding my account and have opened a new basic account as this is all I can get due to poor credit rating. Will the OR want statements from my old bank account or will he want them from my new one, Not sure if I will be able to get them from my old account now that I have closed it. Also will he grill me for taking the payday advances out I have two small children and the money helped me out alot so seemed a good idea at the time but they all got on topof me and I struggled to make repayments back on them. Also in regards to the majority of my debt which was taken out in 2003-2005 I only have debt collection letters in regards to these is this enough information for the OR, I am petrified of having the OR interview and would like as much information in reagrds to this ie,what do i need to provide them with, what will they ask I do not have any assetts and live in rented accomodation I only work part time so its probably unlikly that I will have to pay a sum each month. Please could some one help me in this matter worried sick I am.xx

Dmm1982

Hi Dmm1982

I have not been bankrupt but work in the general area of insolvency and wanted to reassure you. The interview is a necessary part of the process, but is aimed at information gathering, not telling you off!

Be prepared to answer questions about your creditors and have as much information as you realistically can.

There is a leaflet here called "What happens when you are interviewed by the OR" www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/Publications on what happens when you are interviewed, hopefully this will make you feel less anxious.

It's likely that your interview (if in fact there is one, the OR can opt not to interview if there are no areas he requires further information on) will just be a short formality and I expect will be conducted over the telephone as your debt level is quite low compared to most bankruptcies, even though it doesn't feel like it. If you fill in your statement of affairs as fully as possible this negates the need for further information gathering so make sure you fill it in properly.

The purpose of the interview is to establish the cause of bankruptcy. The last question on the statement of affairs covers this so be clear and open here. Don't just write one sentence! It's they why that counts so the examiner can write their report to creditors. They may also ask what you spent the money you borrowed on, so explain this on the relevant part of the S of A.

You are unlikely to be asked for bank statements etc unless there are areas of irregularity that need to be clarified, and if you can't get them the OR staff can, so don't worry about that.

If you have no surplus income once your reasonable living expenses are covered you won't be asked for a monthly payment. This is assessed on a case by case basis so is particular to your circumstances.

Please don't worry too much about it, examiners are generally nice and they just want to get their job done. They're not there to trip you up or tell you off.

One thing to be aware of is that your new bank account will probably be frozen and may be closed after the bankruptcy order is made. Please make sure that you have your salary/benefits paid elsewhere as its an enormous ball ache to unfreeze an account.

If you want to address some more specific issues feel free to PM me.

I had a friend who did this for a job. He was a really nice bloke, and was always very reassuring and friendly. He saw that often the "system" and bad luck had left people in the position they were in. Its only people hiding assets in another name that they were really after. So, don't worry, I am sure it will be fine.

When I went bankrupt, I had to close ALL my bank accounts. After the bankruptcy you open a basic one.
The interview was very easy and the person was lovely, so don't worry about that. They aren't there to judge you.

Hi OP

Very similar position to you. I went to court on Tueday and declared Bankruptcy. Its not an easy option, I feel like such a bad person. I had to do it as it was all making me ill. The court part took an hour. And 45 minutes of that was waiting to see if the judge wanted to see me, and get my papers authorised. They didn't, it was very straight forward.

I have been called twice by OR already for minor questions, and they have been very nice so far. I am waiting to hear when my interview is, although I have been told its by phone, not in person.

Of course, I am scared, I may loose my home I don't know, its out of my hands. But there really was no other option.

Illness, joblosses and trying to support two houses (husbands ex-partner and kids) did it for us. We have tried to do the right thing all along, and its just fallen down around us.

I am trying to see the OR is hopefully someone on my side? Who can help me move on and start again.

I Hope this helps, PM me if you need some support, we could maybe support each other!