United States Bankruptcy Court District of Rhode Island VCIS ~ Voice Case Information System

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VCIS Access Numbers ~ (401) 528-4476 or toll free (800) 843-2841

To view a list of vcis telephone numbers for other courts around the country, click here.

The Voice Case Information System (VCIS) uses a computer-generated synthesized voice device to read case and adversary proceeding information directly from the court's computer. This device permits you to call the computer from any touch-tone telephone and obtain the following case information without assistance from a deputy clerk.

Case Number
Name(s) of debtor(s), or principal parties
Case filing date
Case chapter
Debtor's attorney's name and phone number
Trustee's name
Assigned Judge's name
Discharge and closing dates
341(a) meeting date, time, and location
Case status
Whether the case has assets

Depending on when the case was filed, some of the information listed above may not be available through VCIS. You may presently use VCIS to access information concerning all bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings filed on or after December 1, 1988. For a number of reasons, information concerning cases filed prior to this date may not be available through VCIS. Please call VCIS first. If you are unable to obtain the information you desire, please call the office for assistance.

WHAT YOU NEED

A touch-tone telephone is the only equipment you need to access VCIS. Instructions for using VCIS are attached to this notice.

HOW VCIS WORKS

VCIS searches for cases by participant name and reads you the information available for matching bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings. BANCAP data is posted to the VCIS data base at the close of each business day. As a result, information will typically appear in VCIS the business day followed its entry in BANCAP. New cases and adversary proceedings will typically in VCIS the second business day after filing.

SYSTEM AVAILABILITY

Except for the three hours (generally 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) Required to update the VCIS data base each working day, VCIS is available around-the-clock, 365 days per year.

COST

VCIS is provided free of charge. It costs you nothing to quickly obtain critical bankruptcy case and adversary proceeding information using VCIS.

USER INFORMATION

For additional information concerning the use of VCIS, please contact Systems Manager at (401) 528-4477 ext. 40 or 45.

USING THE VOICE CASE INFORMATION SYSTEM (VCIS)

VCIS is easy to use. To access this information systems and obtain information concerning any District of Rhode Island bankruptcy case or adversary proceeding filed on or after December 1, 1988, and numerous bankruptcy cases filed prior to that date, please follow the instructions in steps 1 through 4 below.

1. Use a touch-tone telephone to dial (401) 528-4476 or toll free at 1-800-843-2841. A computer synthesized voice will answer the call, read instructions for obtaining case information, and ask you to enter a name.

2. Enter the name of a case participant by pressing the keys on your telephone that correspond to the letters in the name. Use the 1 key to enter the letters Q and Z; do not attempt to type in spaces between names, and characters (such as apostrophes and dashes) that are not letters.

a. If you wish to enter the name of an individual, enter the last name followed by the
first name. For example, to enter the name Joe O'Riley, you should press the
following keys:

O R I L E Y J O E

b. If you wish to enter the name of a company, type the company name, omitting suffixes such as Inc. and Corp. For example, to enter the name Joe's Subs, Inc.,
you should press the following keys:

J O E S S U B S

3. Press the # key to tell the computer that the name has been entered. VCIS will search the data base for participants with names matching the one entered.

a. If the data base contains more than four participants with names matching the one
entered, VCIS will not read the available information for matching cases. In these
instances, you should call the court at (401) 528-4477

b. If the data base contains fewer than four participants with names matching the
one entered, VCIS will tell you the number of matching cases in the data base.

1) If the number of matching cases equals one, VCIS will read you the information
available for that case.

2) If the number of matching cases is greater than one but less than 11, VCIS will read you the available information for all matching cases.

a) If you wish to hear information for the next matching case, press the 5 key. You may do this while VCIS is reading or after it has read all the available information.

b) If you do not wish to hear information for additional matching cases, hang-up. You may do this while VCIS is reading or after it has read all the available information for a case.

3) If the number of matching cases is 11 or greater, VCIS will tell you that too many cases have been selected and, to allow everyone fair access to the system, will read the available information for the first 10 matching cases only.

a) If you wish to hear information for the next matching case, press the 5 key. You may do this while VCIS is reading or after it has read all the available information for a case.

b) If you do not wish to hear information for additional matching cases, hang-up. You may do this while VCIS is reading or after it has read all the available information for a case.

c) If the case you are interested in is not one of the ten matching cases read, call the clerk's office for assistance.

4) If the data base contains no participants with names that match the one entered, VCIS will tell you that no cases for that name are on the computer. Call the Clerk's office for assistance.

4. After reading the information available for the matching case or cases, or telling you no cases for that name are on the computer, VCIS will disconnect you. To obtain information concerning additional cases, repeat steps 1 through 3.

For additional information concerning VCIS or to report system problems, contact Systems Manager at (401) 528-4477 ext. 40 or ext. 45.

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©1998 United States Bankruptcy Court
District of Rhode Island

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