Who is The Official Receiver?

After you have filed for bankruptcy the court will notify the Official Receiver of your bankruptcy. The Official Receiver is then charged with administering your bankruptcy which involves protecting your assets and investigating the causes of your bankruptcy.

If you have any questions about dealing with the Official Receiver then please feel free to ask (ask piggy).

The Official Receiver should contact you within two working days of the bankruptcy order and you will then be asked to participate in the Official Receiver interview normally within ten working days of the court order being made.

An appointment for the Official Receiver interview will be made and you will be required to either attend the office or to participate in a telephone interview. Obviously if you cannot attend for a particular reason you may be able to arrange an alternative appointment.

A telephone order is usually carried out where:

• You petitioned for your own bankruptcy
• You have not recently traded
• You have no previous bankruptcies
• You can be contacted by telephone

Prior to either interview a letter will be sent informing you of any requirements. Examples may include sending your bank statements or loan agreements in advance of the interview.

If you are organised and honest in explaining the reasons for your bankruptcy the interview should be relatively straightforward.

For an interview at the Official Receiver office the insolvency service states that you can be expected to be seen within 5 minutes of the appointment time. A member of staff will check your questionnaire and the interview will be conducted by an examiner. The interview is also an opportunity to ask any questions you may have regarding the bankruptcy. The interview can take two to three hours.

For a telephone interview an examiner will contact you at the agreed date and time. The examiner will check the information on the questionnaire and ask for any additional information regarding your assets, liabilities and the reasons leading to your bankruptcy. Again it is an opportunity for you to ask questions about the bankruptcy. The interview will usually take at least half an hour.

Following this interview you may be required to attend another if the official receiver decides that they need to investigate further.

Following the interview the official receiver will check the information you have given and issue a report to the creditors detailing your assets and liabilities. If there are material assets the official receiver will appoint an insolvency practitioner to act as a trustee to deal with the realisation and distribution of the assets. If there are no material assets then the Official Receiver will deal with everything.

The good news is if you are organised, honest, have provided all the necessary information and there are no problems in dealing with your assets then you may not hear from the official receiver again.