Appealing or Annulling a Bankruptcy Order

If you want to challenge a bankruptcy order, the first thing to know is that you do not have to work out how on your own, and the help does not cost anything. National Debtline has been giving free professional debt advice for over 30 years, and its advice is free, confidential and independent¹. You can reach it by phone on 0808 808 4000, by webchat, or through My Money Steps⁴.

An annulment is the route back out of bankruptcy. You can apply to annul whether you made yourself bankrupt or the people you owe made you bankrupt, and you apply to the court that made you bankrupt if you can pay off your debts, secure them, or should never have been made bankrupt in the first place⁶. The Official Receiver can also annul your bankruptcy even if you do not draw down the money from your pension⁷.

The rules are not the same across the UK. The process to become bankrupt is different if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and in Scotland the fees and processes differ again⁸. In Scotland you must speak to a money adviser before you can go bankrupt, and they must sign your bankruptcy application forms¹⁰.

Free advice if you want to challenge a bankruptcy order

The advice you need before applying to annul is the same advice you need before going bankrupt in the first place: what the order does, what it does not do, and whether another solution fits better. National Debtline provides free, impartial debt advice as a registered charity, and says it will always be available to give free advice to help people overcome the debt challenges they face¹.

An adviser can talk you through the grounds for annulment and what the court will expect. You need to apply to the court that made you bankrupt if you can pay off your debts, secure debts, or should never have been made bankrupt⁶. If your circumstances have changed since the order, that conversation is where you find out whether annulment is realistic or whether a different route suits you better.

There is a wider point about timing. The rules around debt relief orders have changed, and for some people a DRO will now be a cheaper alternative to full bankruptcy¹⁴. A debt relief order may be a cheaper alternative to full bankruptcy for some people, and the changes could help people who are considering bankruptcy¹⁶. That matters if you are weighing up whether to challenge an order at all, or whether to ask about a different solution entirely.

Advice is also available beyond the phone line. National Debtline offers phone advice and webchat as alternatives to My Money Steps, so you can choose the channel that suits you⁴. If you are worried about someone else rather than yourself, there is separate guidance for that too¹⁸.

National Debtline: free, confidential debt advice for over 30 years

National Debtline is a charity that has been helping people for over 30 years, and it has been giving free professional debt advice throughout that time¹. Its advice is free, confidential and independent, and as a registered charity it provides free, impartial debt advice³.

The service is free to use, always⁵. That is worth stating plainly, because the market around debt is not uniformly free, and the difference matters when money is already tight. Alongside advice, National Debtline offers free sample letters that you can use to contact creditors in writing²⁰.

What the charity does not do is act as your representative. It will not speak to your creditors or the court on your behalf. What it will do is explain your position, help you understand the options, and give you the tools to write to creditors yourself.

Phone, webchat or My Money Steps: how to get advice

There are three main ways in. You can call by phone, chat online, or use My Money Steps¹⁸. If My Money Steps is not right for you, phone advice and webchat are offered as alternatives⁴.

The phone number is 0808 808 4000, a freephone number¹⁵. The same number is used for free debt advice generally, and for advice on free debt management plans or negotiating reduced payments yourself¹⁶. If you have called before and been told a debt management plan is a good option, that is the number to use¹⁵.

Webchat runs Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm and Saturday 9:30am to 1pm¹². The phone line runs 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 9:30am to 1pm on Saturday¹¹. Business Debtline, which handles business debts, is open 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday¹¹.

If you are calling from abroad, the call is not free of charge, even though the service is¹². Check what your provider charges before dialling, or use webchat during its hours instead.

Bankruptcy advice in England and Wales differs from Scotland

Where you live changes the process, the fees and who you must involve. The process to become bankrupt is different if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland⁸. Bankruptcy in England, Wales and Northern Ireland works in one way, while the fees and processes are different in Scotland⁹.

In England and Wales, an adjudicator decides your application and can make a bankruptcy order if your centre of main interests is in England or Wales¹⁰. The one-off fee is £680 in England and Wales, and fees differ in Northern Ireland¹³.

In Scotland, you must speak to a money adviser before you can go bankrupt, and they must sign your bankruptcy application forms¹⁰. You apply for bankruptcy through an approved money adviser or an insolvency practitioner, and to apply for either type of bankruptcy you must live in Scotland or have an established place of business in Scotland²¹. For the Minimal Asset Process, you get advice from an approved money advice organisation and the application is then submitted to the Accountant in Bankruptcy²³. Full administration bankruptcy can be applied for online with the help of an approved money adviser⁶.

There is a cross-border wrinkle worth knowing. A bankruptcy order made in England and Wales is not automatically recognised abroad¹⁰. If you have assets, work or family ties overseas, raise that with your adviser early.

What a debt adviser cannot do for you

An adviser cannot represent you with creditors or the court, and cannot make the order go away. What the law does instead is stop creditor action once you are bankrupt. The people you owe cannot take any further action against you to recover the debt once you go bankrupt²⁴. They cannot take action to collect your debts during bankruptcy²⁵. That protection extends to people you know: the people you owe cannot take legal action against you after bankruptcy, including people you know¹⁴.

The same pattern applies to a debt relief order. Creditors cannot contact you to ask for payment, take you to court, or send a debt collector to your home²⁶. They cannot take action to recover the debts in your DRO, demand payments, or start court action²⁷.

There are limits to how far this reaches. If you have an attachment of earnings order, the trustee can stop the order and discuss your options with you²⁸. If you are on a Debt Arrangement Scheme in Scotland, the programme can be revoked in a list of circumstances, including if you make yourself bankrupt, obtain a protected trust deed, breach a condition, were untruthful, a creditor petitions for bankruptcy, there is a separation in a joint programme, or death²⁹.

Beware of firms pretending to be National Debtline

Some companies cold call people pretending to be National Debtline, Business Debtline or the Money Advice Trust³². Criminal organisations and unlicensed debt management companies regularly pretend to be charities like the Debt Advice Foundation and make unsolicited calls to obtain personal details or sell inappropriate debt solutions³³.

The pattern is familiar from other sectors. People may contact you pretending to be a bank or utility company³⁴. Pretending to be a bailiff is a criminal offence¹⁴. Credit repair companies that claim to clear debt records should be avoided³⁵, and firms claiming to write off credit card debt make claims that are misleading and could cost you more money, especially where they ask for upfront fees³⁶.

The practical rule is simple: a genuine free debt charity does not cold call you, does not ask for an upfront fee, and does not need your personal details to sell you a solution. If someone rings claiming to be from a charity, hang up and call the charity's published number yourself.

Where to get help and how to complain

Free, impartial help is available from several places. National Debtline is one, on 0808 808 4000¹⁵. The Insolvency Service provides information on bankruptcy, redundancy, paying off your debts, company insolvency and misconduct of trading companies and partnerships³⁷. If you are dealing with a statutory demand, there is separate guidance on that route³⁸.

If you believe someone is breaking the terms of their bankruptcy restrictions, you can report it. You can report someone you suspect of breaking the terms of a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order or a Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking, a Debt Relief Order, or a Debt Relief Restrictions Order or a Debt Relief Restrictions Undertaking³⁹.

For a bankruptcy hearing, the form for a notice of opposition to a bankruptcy order is form Bank 6³⁸. If you are in Scotland and need to check your position, the Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes information on how to apply²².

If you are struggling with money more broadly, there are pages on free debt advice, bankruptcy in England and Wales, sequestration and the Minimal Asset Process in Scotland, debt relief orders and what debt solutions cost.