Owed money from a bankrupt or a company in liquidation

At a first meeting of creditors, the chair - usually the official receiver (OR) will check that everyone present is allowed to be at the meeting, explain its purpose and give details about the insolvent's assets. The meeting then votes on the appointment of an insolvency practitioner (IP) as trustee or liquidator.

You can normally only vote at a meeting if you returned your proof of debt form to the OR within the time limit specified. For more information on proof of debt forms, see making a claim and the order of repayment.

If you won't be attending the meeting and would like someone to vote on your behalf, you must submit a proxy form. You will find the proxy form supplied with the OR's notice that the creditors' meeting has been called.

Voting at a meeting of creditors is by value. This means certain voters may have more than one or a greater proportion of the vote - dependent on the amount of money they are owed. The chair will calculate this after checking the proofs of debt and proxy forms that have been submitted.

For an IP to be appointed by the meeting of creditors, the vote must be supported by a majority in value - relating to the total debt owed.