From: SteveR 
Newsgroups: alt.bankruptcy uk.finance uk.legal
Subject: Re: Official Receiver not doing his duty - what can I do?
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 21:49:09 +0100

sharky  writes:
>SteveR wrote:
>> [UK]
>>  For those who still have some interest in the ongoing saga of my

[snip]

>>this matter?
>>
>Sorry to rain on your parade, but you only have to notify lenders that 
>you are a bankrupt if you want to borrow more than £250.

£500, actually, but in case law it's *cumulative* across all instances 
of obtaining credit.

>So your case probably fails at this point- are the goods she sells more 
>than this?

Some are, yes.  The point about it being cumulative means that if I were 
to order a £150 item, and you order a £200 item, and someone else orders 
another £200 item, that's £550 credit (see below) that she has extended. 
If she doesn't tell us *before* accepting the payment that she is an 
undischarged bankrupt, whoops!

>Secondly, selling services/items with payment up front is NOT 
>'obtaining credit' sorry. It is "being paid for product/services, which 
>have yet to be delivered". A small but distinct difference but very 
>important in bankrupcy terms. Obtaining credit means borrowing money 
>which needs to be returned.

Here is s.360(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986:

"(2) The reference to the bankrupt obtaining credit includes the 
following cases-

     "(a) where goods are billed to him under a hire-purchase agreement, 
or agreed to be sold to him under a conditional sale agreement, and

     "(b) where he is paid in advance (whether in money or otherwise) for 
the supply of goods and services."

Note part (b), as I said.  This is a pretty clear and unambiguous 
statement that you are wrong.

>As to the Insolvency Service being interested? They arn't - they are 
>funded by cash recovered from the bankrupcy and won't bother 
>investigating for anyhting less than £300k - as the cost of 
>investigation outweighs any possible return

They are also funded by the £350 that I paid as a "deposit".  Money for 
nothing, I guess.  If there were any justice, I'd get some value for my 
money...

-- 
SteveR
(throw away the dustbin, send to stever@... instead)

Humans are way too stupid to be dumb animals.
http://www.accidentalcreditor.org.uk/