The case clerk may have obtained useful additional information before contact by checking details using the Experian search engines. These can be found on the OROS intranet site and can provide possible contact numbers and addresses. For bankruptcy cases the Citizenview search should be used and for company cases the Ltd Company Gold Report should be used.

It should be noted however, that in company cases the Experian engine should be used in the first instance, since routine use of Companies House Direct, Registry Trust and 192.com will incur unnecessary cost.

Should the need arise, it is possible to obtain the title number and check if a property is freehold or leasehold by inputting the full postcode into the search facility on the Land Registry Direct  website via www.landregistry.gov.uk. This service is available free of charge. (See Technical Manual Chapter 31.3.3).

5. Who should be contacted?

In the first instance, the bankrupt, partner or company director will invariably be the best source of information and every effort should be made to contact them. 

Sometimes they will be at court for the hearing, and it may have been possible to speak with them on the telephone there. This is ideal as it means that they are aware of the proceedings and will usually have some or all of the information to hand.

6. Petitioning Creditors and their Solicitors

The petitioning creditors and/or their solicitors can also be a useful source of information. They will almost certainly have more information than the basic facts incorporated into the petition and order and even where contact has been made with the bankrupt, partner or director, they can be used as a supplementary source of information. 

The petitioners will have details of service of the petition, which will indicate whether the subject can be contacted at the address in the description (bankruptcy), whether the insolvent is aware of the proceedings, whether any trading activity is/was being carried on, when the proceedings began, what is/was the business, and who was the main contact and their details. They may also have details of other solicitors, accountants, banks etc.  

7. Government Departments as petitioning/supporting creditor

When HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is the petitioning creditor in a bankruptcy, a standard package of information will be provided to the Petitions and Transfers section (P&T), (part of Centralised Activities Directorate based at Sunley House, OR Croydon) as a matter of routine within 48 hours of the bankruptcy order. The information will be supplied to official receivers by P&T. Where necessary HMRC may be contacted direct but only after four days have elapsed from the making of the winding-up or bankruptcy order. If a copy of the petition is required before that time, a request must be made to P&T.  

Where HMRC is a supporting creditor, an information package will be supplied to the official receiver on his/her written request which should be made to HMRC Enforcement Office, Durrington Bridge House, Barrington Road, Worthing BN12 4SE. Such a request should not be made as a matter of routine in every case, but only in cases where it is necessary to do so, e.g in order to locate the bankrupt.  

In cases where HMRC has petitioned for the winding-up order or has supported the petition for winding-up, enquiries for information should be sent to Enforcement Office, at the address detailed above.

Where the petitioning creditor is HMRC for unpaid VAT, the (VAT) Insolvency Section will provide initial enquiry information (if known) on new cases if the official receiver is unable to obtain the information via other routes. A standard form is available for this purpose. (Annex e to M65/02) Requests for initial information should be sent by e-mail. HMRC have confirmed that their solicitors’ references will include the VAT number for cases where they are the petitioning creditor.

Where the petitioner is the National Insurance Contributions Office (NICO), the Insolvency Group of NICO Newcastle has requested that official receivers do not contact them on the making of the order as their papers will still be with solicitors and they will have no useful information to pass on.  

8.  Other sources of information - company

9. Why do we ask specific questions?

Once contact has been made, the initial questionnaire forms IEC and IEBC will cover the main questions to be asked. These forms are to be used in all cases. Some reminders  are included in the standard forms e.g. Yes/No boxes regarding Central Index search.

The information sought and why the official receiver needs these details is further explained as follows:

Personal/ Director detail

• asked for to ensure that the correct person has been contacted and( in bankruptcy) to check whether the description given in the order is correct and up-to-date .This could be especially relevant if an Experian search has revealed alternative addresses.
• In both bankruptcy and company cases, if the bankrupt/director is willing to complete the PIQ on-line, an e-mail address will be required. If available you may want to send out the leaflet to him/her by e-mail. Alternatively the NTB1/NTCO letters have been amended and include these details.

Trading details

• needed to establish whether the bankrupt or company is still trading and whether an inspection is warranted. Also needed to determine whether any immediate action is required either to collect, protect or realise assets, to appoint an insolvency practitioner or to deal with any onerous property. 

Employees

• if the bankrupt’s business or the company still has employees at the date of the bankruptcy/winding-up order then an inspection may be warranted as the employees may have to be dismissed. 

Personal/Business assets

• the list contained in the initial enquiry form is not exhaustive. Where appropriate the nature of any business should be considered and what assets there may be. It is also important to find out if the assets are owned by anyone else or whether they are subject to retention of title. This may mean that they are not part of the estate and the official receiver should not attempt to sell them.

Accounting Records

• arrangements should be made for the accounting records to be delivered to the official receiver or collected from the bankrupt/director as soon as possible. The bankrupt/director should be reminded of the importance of delivering up the accounting/financial records, if appropriate.

Bank or Building Society accounts

• the official receiver is obliged to notify banks of the order and in a bankruptcy, will need to either realise any credit balance, arrange for the bankrupt to have access to all or part of the credit balance or to inform the bank that the official receiver has no objection to the bankrupt continuing to use the account. In a company the account should be frozen.

Motor Vehicles

• motor vehicles could be an asset in the estate or they might be onerous property that the official receiver needs to deal with.

10. The On-line Forms Service

Both the PIQB and the PIQC are available to be completed on-line. The ability to receive the document at an early stage in the case and before the interview is an advantage to examiners when making decisions about the case and an advantage to the office since much of the initial information e.g. case and creditor details is available to be uploaded directly onto LOIS.

The forms can also be e-mailed to the official receiver’s office as a PDF attachment by the user, or alternatively the PDFs can be searched and downloaded directly by the office staff after logging on to the online forms website.

The advantages to the bankrupt/director are set out in a factsheet published by Technical Section “Complete your forms online!”, which is also automatically produced when selecting LOIS forms NTB1or NTCO. 

If a bankrupt/director has any questions about accessing the on-line forms, they should be directed to the Frequently Asked Questions which can be accessed from the website via “Do it On-line”. However, the examiner should deal with any questions specific to the case.  

11. What if the business is still trading?

Where enquiries have established that a business/company is still trading the examiner must make immediate enquiries to enable him/her to consider what action needs to be taken.

12. The bankrupt/partner/director is unco-operative

In most cases the bankrupt/partner/director will have been aware of the proceedings leading up to the making of the insolvency order. Occasionally  the person on the other end of the phone may initially be unco-operative. If this is the case, explain politely and calmly that the order has now been made and that they have a statutory duty to co-operate with the official receiver and provide the information requested. 

13. What if the bankrupt/partner/director states that the order was a "mistake" and will be annulled/rescinded?

Again, occasionally, the bankrupt/partner's/director's initial reaction to news of the order will be one of disbelief and they will insist that they are going to apply for an annulment or rescission of the order. In practice, such applications are not made in the majority of cases.

It is a matter for the bankrupt/partner/director to seek proper legal advice and to make the relevant application to court as quickly as possible - do not become involved other than to emphasize the need for urgency. Point out that they must still co-operate with the official receiver by providing the detailed information necessary for him/her to carry out his/her statutory duties. 

14. The bankrupt/partner/director is asking for advice

The official receiver is not in a position to give independent advice and accordingly, advice should NOT be given. Instead the bankrupt/partner/director should be referred to The Service's range of leaflets and Frequently Asked Questions on the internet (www.insolvency.gov.uk) or sent copies. The official receiver should advise the caller to read through the literature and contact as a matter of urgency, if appropriate, The Citizens Advice Bureau, an IP or solicitor who may be able to assist.  

15. Making an appointment for interview

When contact has been made the examiner will explain that the telephone call is only the initial contact and that after a series of a few questions( forms IEC/IEBC) the bankrupt/partner/director will be given an appointment date for interview in the office. The bankrupt/partner/director will be informed that he/she will be sent a letter confirming the appointment time, together with other information and leaflets and a Preliminary Information Questionnaire (PIQ) which should be completed before attending at the office.

It must be pointed out that it is extremely important that they keep the appointment but that  they should telephone the official receiver's office without delay, if there are special circumstances which would prevent them from keeping their appointment. The appointment for interview will then need to be re-arranged.   

16. Delivering up books and papers

Both forms IEC and IEBC request details of the accounting records, their whereabouts and whether there are any computerized records.

It will be for the examiner to decide whether or not the records should be recovered. If a decision is taken not to collect the records, the examiner should record the decision together with the reason for it on the appropriate part of the CAR form. The official receiver has a duty to investigate the affairs of a failed company and where he/she thinks necessary the affairs of each bankrupt. The examination of the records of the insolvent may be an important part of the official receivers' investigation and they should be recovered in every company case and all bankruptcy cases where the official receiver has not made a decision that investigation of the bankrupt's affairs is unnecessary. 

For further information see Technical Manual Chapter 10.3

If the books and papers are to be delivered up, the letter NTB1 or NTCO gives details of what is required. In the case of a bankruptcy, this will include any accounts where the individual traded or was self-employed, together with cheque books and cards, building society passbooks and or cards, credit cards, insurance policies, share certificates, premium bonds, finance agreements, lease/rental agreements for trading premises, etc. In the case of a partnership or company, this will include copies of accounts, both draft and filed, company cheque books and cards, company credit cards, company seal, statutory company books, lease/rental agreements for trading premises, finance agreements etc. 

If they are unsure whether to bring something in or not, it is better to err on the side of caution and bring it to avoid another trip to the office. Any specific queries will be dealt with by the examiner.

It must be stressed that cheque books, credit cards etc must no longer be used.

17. What happens if no telephone contact can be made?

If the bankrupt/partner/director cannot be contacted immediately, further attempts at different times of the day should be tried.

If, despite exhaustive enquiries, contact with the bankrupt/partner/director has still not been possible within the recommended time, then an initial appointment should be made and the case monitored to pursue, according to local office practice.

Where can I find out more ?

Insolvency Act 1986 

Sections 130-132

Section 235

Sections 288-289

Section 291

Insolvency Rules 1986 

Rules 4.20 and 4.21 

Rules 6.33 and 6.34 

Rule 12.19

Technical Manual 

Chapter 3 - Initial Procedure when winding-up order made

Chapter 4 - Initial Procedure when bankruptcy order made

Chapter 10 - Custody, storage, preservation and destruction of records

Chapter 31.3 - Dealing with freehold & leasehold properties

Chapter 49 - Insurance