Post bankruptcy checks by potential customers

[Primal21]

My concern at the moment happened today when a potential customer apparently did a web search on me and found out that I had been bankrupted. After searching the insolvency database to find that I was not on it, I did a bit of digging myself and found that he was a financial adviser. I now wonder if he was using private information protected under DPA for the basis of his search. I am not entirely sure if this is legal or not, especially as I not a customer of his. Can anyone shed any light on the legality of this?

 

[Antonia @limeone.com]

It's a public record so anyone can obtain the information if they know where to look. If you have had a bankruptcy order made against you it is advertised in the Gazette which is on line and in hard copy and a public record as well as the advert that will have appeared in your own local paper.

 

[Primal21]

So even if discharge was reached in 2006, this information, although no longer on the insolvency service database, is still available elsewhere? You say if you know where to look - where would I look to check that the information is correct and that discharge has been noted?

 

[Antonia @limeone.com]

Your record will continue to be a public record with the court service, anyone phoning the Insolvency service can access it and the date of discharge. Those interested can also ask for the details of the official receiver's office involved and the name of the OR in your case if they wanted them.

The adverts were placed in the Gazette at the time of the order as well as in your local paper so those will be there for good. They just state the facts, the number of the order, date and the court involved.

They do not advertise discharge as it is not a requirement under Insolvency law but clearly any order is capable of discharge in time.

 

[Primal21]

Thanks Antonia, much appreciated, I was just so shocked that this person checked such things, and if he had have asked me, I would have told him. I am not a criminal.

 

[robwoollen]

The individual insolvency register operated by the Insolvency Service only carries your details for 3 months after discharge. The HM Land Registry carries your details for 5 years after the date of the order. If you aren't on the register any more, and can;t be found online, I doubt that phoning the insolvency service will allow anybody to find out this information. I don't know whether the gazette is then deleted, but for certain, the local paper adverts are not carried over online as the news stories are. If they were, then putting a single advert in the local paper would be by far the cheapest form of internet advertising as it would be around for ever.
The information I had was that it only remains on file for 5 years from the date of the order- after that it should not be "findable" by anybody without authority. The idea of the Enterprise Act was to rehabilitate bankrupts- not to stigmatise them.

 

[obscure]

Thanks Antonia, much appreciated, I was just so shocked that this person checked such things, and if he had have asked me, I would have told him. I am not a criminal.

Checking the financial stability of a business you are planning to deal with sound like a smart idea to me. It happens all the time.

Different people have different comfort levels when it comes to taking risks with their business. Some people are happy working with companies/people with less than perfect financial track records while others aren't. Each to their own. I wouldn't invest in a company or do business with one before undertaking at least some level of due diligence.

 

[Primal21]

I agree, the Enterprise Act is pretty much ignored by banks and by some other entities. I was aware that the banks would not invest in me for at least six years, so I have started again without investment and doing very well, regardless of the Enterprise Act.

I found the entry in the Gazette, which as Antonia pointed out is a public record and will remain there for posterity. Places like credit agencies will keep this information on file for 6 years, which I can only assume is linked to the statute of limitations. Even getting the discharge letter right on your credit references is a trial. Experian are fine but Equifax still have not replied in over six months since writing a letter for a copy of my file. The cheque for £2 still has not been cashed by them, so I assume they either didn't get it or they are just plain incompetent.

I have done extensive web searches and there is no record online, which made me think the he had searched using information that he had no right to use without my consent. Having checked the Gazette, it is more likely that this is the source and has caused concern to him that it is not noted that discharge was 8 months later without payment order or disqualification as a director. As Antonia pointed out again, there is no obligation under the law to post the discharge notice.

This only causes concern to me in as far as I feel I have done everything in my power within the law to sort this out as per the instructions from The Insolvency Service and a solicitor and still I find that I hit the odd problem along the way.

 

[Primal21]

Checking the financial stability of a business you are planning to deal with sound like a smart idea to me. It happens all the time.

Different people have different comfort levels when it comes to taking risks with their business. Some people are happy working with companies/people with less than perfect financial track records while others aren't. Each to their own. I wouldn't invest in a company or do business with one before undertaking at least some level of due diligence.

As a sole trader I am stable as a rock, I have no debts and business is good. Something that happened nearly 3 years ago has little bearing on what is happening now. My business was fine before too, but when the problem is caused by a third party making bad decisions, ther is a price to pay even though the problem was personal and not business.

To my mind there is not enough information available to do reasonable due diligence based on information that is either not available or excluded because it is not required by law, hence the reason some will look at your books. You would not know the situation unless you talked to the company concerned. In this instance, based on the information available publicly, it seems that the comfort zone is very narrow based on little and incomplete information. As you say each to their own. This is what makes a mockery of the Enterprise Act.

 

[Cred-X]

This is what makes a mockery of the Enterprise Act.

Some Acts are simply made to keep the EU happy.

 

[Antonia @limeone.com]

Official notices are carried over on line by many papers not in the same class as routine adverts. The London Gazette is searchable over many years. As mentioned above the public record is always searchable. The Insolvency Service, if asked for details of the date of the bankruptcy order will give provide details including the area in which it was made. This information is also available via the Court Service.

 

[robwoollen]

Wow! That really does make a mockery of the Enterprise Act. So effectively, although the major credit reference agencies will remove the information after 6 years. it is still possible to suffer for a long time afterwards.

 

[Antonia @limeone.com]

Yup for Insolvency yes, the 6 year rule has always been there for CCJs but in financial applications the individual business can ask for information going back further. The Enterprise Act allows earlier discharge but the record remains and in most cases involving money will need to be declared.

In this case it is unusual for a customer to search for this but it depends on the service, the amount involved and the customer I guess.