The Official Receiver works for the Insolvency Service and is an officer of the court. Once notified of your Bankruptcy notification, the Official Receiver will guide you through the process; take control of your assets and ensure creditors are repaid.

Q: What should I do after completing the insolvency order?

A: Normally the Official Receiver will contact you within two working days of receiving your insolvency order and make an appointment for you to visit the Official Receiver’s office for an interview. If you do not have to attend an interview, you will be sent a letter outlining what you need to do to progress with the Bankruptcy. In both instances, you will be required to complete a questionnaire about your circumstances.

If you are asked to attend an interview, we recommend you follow the following three points:
1) Confirm your appointment with the Official Receiver immediately if haven’t done so already. If you have any special requirements, they should be outlined as soon as possible. For example:

• If you have a disability or infirmity and need special facilities when attending the office
• If you have lots of paperwork or accounting records and need them to be collected
• If you have any pressing matters that need to be dealt with urgently
• If you have to reschedule the appointment

2) Complete the questionnaire as thoroughly as possible, taking the time to make notes on questions you don’t fully understand.
3) Collect all the information / documentation you need for the interview. This includes financial information, bank statements and other paperwork about your debts. The more organised you are in the early stages, the more straightforward the entire process will be.

It is imperative that you co-operate with the Official Receiver as failure to do so could result in court action. Your discharge period from Bankruptcy proceedings could be suspended, which means your Bankruptcy could last longer than normal.

Q: What happens at the first appointment?

A: Your first appointment will be relatively straightforward. Firstly, your questionnaire will be checked by a member of the Official Receiver’s team. If you haven’t completed the questionnaire, you will be asked to do so there and then before the interview can progress.

Secondly, you will be interviewed by a specialist in insolvency matters. They will investigate the details of your debts and the reasons behind your insolvency. They will also record details on assets that can be used to repay creditors. This is the same for both individual and business cases.

Thirdly, you will be asked to hand over all of your company’s financial records which will be examined and recorded. These will be kept by the Official Receiver.
You could be asked to attend a second interview if:

• The Official Receiver needs more time to complete enquiries on your affairs
• You have not been able to provide all financial records
• More details regarding your assets, debts or financial circumstances
• You do not provide all necessary information required

Q: What happens after the first appointment?

A: The information you have provided at the initial meeting will be checked and a report will be issued to creditors (and shareholders in a winding-up). If material assets are available, the Official Receiver could appoint a licensed Insolvency Practitioner to act as a Trustee and deal with the distribution of these assets or they will handle the entire case themselves.

A report will be issued to your creditors between 8-12 weeks of the insolvency order being complete.

If meeting with your creditors is necessary, it will be arranged within 12 weeks of the insolvency order being complete. However, in some cases this can take up to 4 months. You will be notified if a licensed Insolvency Practitioner has been appointed to your case to act as a Trustee.

You will need to co-operate fully with the Official Receiver / Trustee.

Q: How long will the process take?

A: The duration of this period will depend entirely on the complexity of your individual case. It will also depend on how organised you are and if you have provided all the information needed for the process to move forward as smoothly as possible.

Bankruptcy will normally last 12 months, but if your Bankruptcy refers to ‘certificate of summary administration’ then it will last for 2 years.

If you fail to co-operate with the Official Receiver or Trustee, the court could suspend the discharge period. If the court agrees, your bankruptcy will only end when the suspension has been lifted.

If you have previously been bankrupt within the last 15 years, you will not be entitled to an automatic discharge. You will have to apply to the court for your discharge and you cannot do this until 5 years after your last Bankruptcy.

Discharge from bankruptcy does not end your Trustee’s administration of any assets which became part of your bankruptcy estate. The more difficulty the Official Receiver has in determining the causes of the insolvency or administering the assets, the longer the whole process will take.

Whether you’re declaring Bankruptcy for yourself or your company, you could be required to:

• Submit a sworn statement of affairs (this is a summary of assets and debts)
• Provide accounts including all dealings made in cash for goods

If you do not provide what is required, court action could be taken. This means you will face public examination and have to answer questions relating to private / company affairs, financial dealings and property in an open court. Creditors can also attend and ask questions. Under insolvency legislation there are provisions about criminal offences and unfit conduct by directors.

The Official Receiver’s job is to establish the facts, therefore if there appears to be evidence of criminality, the Official Receiver will report to The Insolvency Service’s Headquarters.

However, in the vast majority of cases, applications do not warrant the need for criminal or disqualification proceedings.