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I'm on a roll tonight!

The day we go bankrupt, obviously our bank accounts are frozen. We have a joint account with Co-op bank and have our DD's/Rent set up and our salaries paid in.

By the time we go bankrupt we will have approximately £1,500 in the account, and this will pretty much cover our next months living expenses and rent.

Is this level of money going to be safe from the OR? And how do I get the account unfrozen again, especially as we will probably not see the OR straight away? Naturally we don't owe the co-op any money, so they have no reason to keep the account frozen for themselves.

This money will be caught in the freezing of your bank account and you would be better off drawing it out in cash the day before the hearing to be sure that you are able to pay your bills. You will need to declare the money to the OR, but they will understand that you have ongoing commitments to pay.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

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Hi Wen,

I believe that when an individual is declared bankrupt all bank accounts are frozen whether the lender is a creditor or not. So maybe its best to remove the money so then you know that it is safe. As Melanie suggested I think you should take the money out of your account a few days before going to see the OR.

Best Regards,
IVA Experts
http://www.iva-experts.co.uk/

I would take out the money from your bank account before you go BR and declare it on the forms as cash in hand. You can then ask the OR to confirm to the bank that they are happy for you to use the account and then it's down to the bank to make that decision.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Would the OR be ok about us removing an amount such as £1500 the day before we declare BR?

If you need it for living expenses for the next month then I can't see that they would have a problem, although I'm sure Melanie will correct me if I'm wrong!

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

On the day of the BR, do I speak to the OR straight away about getting it unfrozen, or do I have to wait until I have my meeting?

I rang and spoke to a case worker at the OR's office the next day and he confirmed that I could keep my bank account and also my mobile phone. I was then phoned by the examiner dealing with my case later that afternoon and she confirmed that I could keep my car, so they were pretty quick.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Just bumping this again... One further question.

When our Co-op account is frozen on the day of bankruptcy with a £0.00 balance and I will then paid the day after. Would the bank accept the funds or reject the money, and if they accept the funds, will the OR have the right to take the funds? We're only talking about £130, but my employers pay me weekly and they won't suspend payments or anything, and I don't want to go through a long story about bankruptcy to them.

Mr. Wen.

You will need to discuss this with the Bank firstly to see what their policy will be. They cannot hang on to the funds (unless you have an overdraft or other debts) and the OR is unlikely to take money from you which you need to fund your ongoing household and general expenditure.

Thanks Melanie (and for your earlier email!)

We have no overdrafts or debts with the Co-op or their related companies.

We are going in on wednesday to withdraw the balance of our account anyway, so i'll speak to them.