The Insolvency Service is going to consult this autumn on how to increase access to basic bank accounts for undischarged bankrupts.

At the moment, only Barclays and The Co-operative Bank say that they will allow undischarged bankrupts to open a basic bank account.

To inform our responses to this consultation AdviceUK, Citizens Advice, the Institute of Money Advisers and the Money Advice Trust are gathering evidence on clients' experiences of accessing banking services after bankruptcy or obtaining a DRO. 

We are also interested in whether clients are put off pursuing these debt remedies due to concerns about whether they will be able to open and use a bank account after petitioning for bankruptcy or obtaining a DRO.

Information about clients who have had a good experience with their bank following their bankruptcy, for instance where the bank has allowed them to keep their existing account open, would also be very helpful in making our case.
 
We have put together a survey to gather this information and are asking advisers to complete the survey for each client they give advice to on bankruptcy and DROs in relation to access to banking.
 
The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Accesstobanking
 
Please complete a separate survey for each client you give advice to on bankruptcy and DROs in relation to access to banking you see until 30th November 2011. The more information we are able to gather, the stronger our findings will be.