The official reciever

The Official Receiver is someone who is appointed by the court to take possession of your assets and your estate when you enter into bankruptcy.

The Official Receiver (“OR”) is an officer of the court and a civil servant in the Insolvency Service.

An OR will be responsible for taking control of your assets and looking into your conduct and financial affairs. The OR will assess your finances to ascertain whether you can afford to make payments into your Bankruptcy Estate for the benefit of your creditors, Income Payments Order or Agreement (“IPA/IPO”). The OR also has to ensure there has been no wrongdoing in the course of your financial dealings, to ascertain whether you should be subject to a Bankruptcy resitrictions Order (“BRO”)

Once your bankruptcy order has been approved by the court, you should hear from the Official Receiver within a period of time dependant upon the workload of the particular Ors office. The OR will contact you once they have assessed your statement of affairs and either offer a date to meet you, or a time when you can expect a telephone call to discuss your financial circumstances.

Information generally requested will include details regarding your creditors and any insurances, savings or pensions you may have. It is important that you comply with the OR and give all information requested as well as any extra monies you have including inheritance or windfalls.

Official receivers are located in 33 offices in the UK. You should be appointed an OR who resides at an office near your location.

Once you have had a meeting with the OR, and the OR has assessed all of your information, they will then issue a report to your creditors informing them of your bankruptcy.

It is important whilst you are going through the bankruptcy process that you do not make direct payments to any of your creditors. Any monies paid out by you whilst you are bankrupt can be requested to be returned by your OR. This includes any payments that you may have made to friends or family.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding which information should be given to the OR, or there is anything you do not understand, contact the office of the OR and they can answer any questions you may have.

Call our specialist debt team on 08000 915 004 to find out how we could help you.