The provisional liquidators of oBike will be holding a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 2 at 3pm.

This meeting is open to oBike users who have yet to receive a refund of their deposit, among other creditors.

But before you start emailing your boss to request to take leave or make arrangement to skip school or class or your CCA to go, hold up — because all this is a little more complicated than being able to guarantee your refund by going.

We break it down for you:

Where will this meeting be held?

It will be held at Shine Auditorium, which is located at #03-01, Shaw Tower. The meeting is organised by oBike's liquidators: global business advisory firm FTI Consulting.

What will the meeting set out to do?

The meeting is set up to address several concerns, such as the status of the retrieval of the bikes, and details in relation to the deposits that have not been refunded.

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The liquidators are "in dialogue" with the founders of the oBike group and the company's shareholders on the matter of issuing refunds to the deposit holders.

Creditors and deposit holders will also get a chance to enquire about the situation surrounding oBike winding up, and the liquidators, Joshua James Taylor and Yit Chee Wah of FTI Consulting, will be present at the meeting to respond to these questions.

Deposit holders and creditors will have to vote on the next course of action for oBike, but it's vague at best what exactly you will be voting for, and we can say with pretty much 100 per cent certainty that you won't be able to get your refund back immediately after the meeting.

Who can attend the meeting? Can I just show up?

Those of you who have yet to receive refunds on your deposits, and any other creditors oBike has (e.g. Town Councils who fined them but haven't been paid, and quite likely a good number of others).

If you want to attend the meeting, you must submit your claims online to https://www.obikedepositholders.com/ by noon, Aug 1.

This site is essentially a simplified Form 77 or a proof of debt, where users can list the amounts owed them by the company, alongside other personal details:

However, the detailed nature of this form has raised several questions among oBike deposit holders.

Some pointed out that a Google form looks unprofessional and shady, and submitting private information such as NRIC, credit card/PayPal/cryptocurrency statements and student certification seems a bit too much.

As compared to the actual Form 77 found on the Ministry of Law's website, which doesn't ask for the statements and certification, but does ask for details such as one's NRIC, postal address.

Then again, it's plausible that they need these details when it comes to processing the refunds, but with a refund system yet to be in place, some users are thinking twice.

What if I can't go? Does this mean I can't get my refund?

Those who skip the meeting can still submit their claims afterwards and will not lose their entitlement to their refund simply because they were not present at the meeting. You still have the right to get back your deposit refund. 

Alternatively, you can also elect a proxy via a General Proxy Form or a Special Proxy Form, for someone to attend on your behalf and also vote for the resolution either you or your proxy feel most appropriate.

How much was owed?

Approximately S$8,912,903.24 is collectively owed to deposit owners. It's estimated that amount is owed to 220,457 deposit owners, though only 6,286 deposit holders have come forward with their claims as of July 22.

Trade and general creditors (e.g. town councils and employees) are also owed claims of S$497,761.81. To date, the said creditors have lodged claims amounting to S$373,729.28.

Will I definitely get my deposit back if I submit the form? If I don't do so before the meeting, will I miss out on it? #kiasu

We're not too sure ourselves. Because while the meeting is not compulsory, whether the form is absolutely necessary for securing your deposit refund is less clear-cut.

While deposit holders are urged to submit the form, it's also been reported, according to CASE, that deposit holders "are advised to wait for an update from the company or the liquidators on the refund process before filing for a refund" (emphasis in the quote ours, because we don't view this claim form that currently exists as necessarily being SPECIFICALLY the refund process).

Currently, we don't see that refund process taking shape yet — as mentioned, this form isn't necessarily it — so it's debatable. However,  if you've been owed a good sum of money (well, let's put this at several times more than S$49) as a business or an employee, this meeting may be of greater importance to you.

We've reached out to both FTI Consulting and CASE to better clarify the matter, and we will update this article with their response.

Top photo via oBike Facebook page