What is the process of becoming bankrupt?

• You’ll be declared bankrupt when the court issues you with a bankruptcy order.
• Before the courts can do this they must be presented with a bankruptcy petition.
• The bankruptcy petition can come from either i) the creditor (money lenders) - or   ii) the debtor (you).

How to obtain a bankruptcy petition yourself

• We can assist you in the administration of your bankruptcy process.
• Call Debt Advisory Line and speak to one of our customer service team.
• We will also review your situation as you may qualify for alternative assistance

Note that there may be other ways to repay debts, such as an IVA or debt management plan.

• These services do far less damage to your credit rating and create fewer problems when obtaining credit in the future.

Call Debt Advisory Line now on 0800 157 7254 or take our online debt test.

Get Online Bankruptcy Advice - Complete our Debt Advice Form !

 DAL Bankruptcy Service, Customer Feedback: – Peter from Warrington, May 2011
‘..thanks once again for all your help with this, you’ve made a quite harrowing process far easier to deal with”.

Bankruptcy charges

Once we have provided the relevant petitions, you should then take the completed forms to your nearest county court.

• A £175 court fee, payable on the day of the hearing**
• Deposit of £525 for the official receiver’s work - which must be paid.
• Our bankruptcy assistance fee is £495 +Vat per person 

A creditor’s petition

• If you owe unsecured debt of over £750 your creditors can present a petition to court.
• Even if you dispute this claim you must co-operate with proceedings once they have started
• Most people try to reach a settlement beforehand.

Court Hearing

The Courts Service website - www.courtservice.gov.uk has an index of County Courts that will show you the County Court which has jurisdiction in your area. You will need to contact the Court to confirm if it has jurisdiction to hear a bankruptcy case.

The Court will either:

• Stay (delay) the proceedings – often because the Court needs further information.
• Dismiss the petition – perhaps because an administration order would be more appropriate.
• Appoint an Insolvency Practitioner – if the Court thinks that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement would be more appropriate.
• Make a bankruptcy order. You will automatically be freed ('discharged') from bankruptcy, usually after a maximum of 12 months from the date of the bankruptcy order.

Your responsibilites

• You must provide the Official Receiver with information relating to your financial affairs such as, a list of your assets (property, pensions, insurance policies etc), amounts of each debt and to which creditor they are owed to, within 21 days of a bankruptcy order being made.
• Any assets are then to be handed over to the Official Receiver along with any bank statements and insurance policies relating to your property and financial affairs.
• Any assets and income increases obtained during the bankruptcy should be declared to the Trustee.
• You must not obtain credit of £500 or more from any person without first disclosing the fact that you are bankrupt.
• Any bank, building society, credit card or similar accounts must no longer be used.
• You must not make any direct payments to your creditors.
• You may also have to attend Court to explain why you are in debt. If you do not co-operate, you could be arrested.

Get Online Bankruptcy Advice - Complete our Debt Advice Form !

 Additional information
** In some circumstances the Court may waive this fee; for example, if you are on Income Support. Court staff will be able to advise you whether you qualify for a reduction or are exempt from paying the fee.

Fees should be paid in cash, postal orders, or by a building society, bank or solicitor’s cheque. Cheques should be made payable to H M Paymaster General. Personal cheques will not be accepted.