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[sidrivingins]

Hi. My bankruptcy has been over now for about 2 years.
I never did anything afterwards to prove i was no longer bankrupt, did I have to?
I'm now unfortunately looking for a new loan (car blew up and I need one for work). Would it be possible to go to a normal bank or is it a case of needing a loan from a company that charges the earth?

[Hayden]

Hi sidrivingins. How are you doing?

Discharge from bankruptcy happens automatically. There is no fanfare and you do not even get a letter from the Official Receiver confirming the situation. Your name is simply taken off the Insolvency Register and that is that.

Normally you will never need for any proof that you have been discharged. However if you do it is possible to get a letter confirming the date of your discharge by e-mailing the Insolvency Service Enquiry Centre. It is possible to get a formal certificate of discharge. However you have to apply to the Court for that and it will cost £70.

In terms of getting a loan after bankruptcy this will depend on the current status of your credit file. The record of bankruptcy remains on your file for 6 years from the start date. As such in your case it is probably still there and your credit rating will therefore still be poor. As such I doubt very much that a High Street lender will help you. If you need a loan you will unfortunately still have to use an adverse lender who will charge more.

[sidrivingins]

Cheers Hayden.
I do have money in my account (a few thousand) but don't really want to touch this. Been saving as much as I can since my bankruptcy ended. Do you know if this will help me?

[Hayden]

Hi sidrivingins

I do not think that the fact you have some money saved will help. I think your poor credit rating will be the overarching factor. If you are looking for car finance I am aware of one company called Money Barn which I believe is OK. I have no personal experience with them but they might be worth checking out. They are an adverse lender so may well consider you but as you are aware they will charge quite a high interest rate.