IVA Watchdog

spenderblender

Hubby had a letter off these today. It says on the letter about the fact that we entered into an IVA and the date and after numerous media reports about bad advice they were looking into it.
On the bottom of the letter it asks "Who are we"?
The IVA watchdog holds a consumer credit licence issued by the office of fair trading.
It does have a REG no 06632921.
Just wondered if anyone else has had one and is it legit.

Browntoa

read this

http://iva.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=0.9&TOPIC_ID=19790&#174832

spenderblender

Thanks for that Browntoa. Usually I do just put these straight in the bin as we are now going for BR anyway through ourselves but with it saying it was from a government run thing it made me wonder.

affluenza

Hello

There was a news article on the BBC's site that said something to the effect that the govt is looking at closing down companies that are misleading people into believing that they are debt charities.

They have names that are very similar to legitimate agencies and they should be avoided, because their interest is not in helping you but making money off your situation.

I am pretty certain the one you refer to is a business and not an official charity or govt funded agency and so I would tread very carefully. Having said that, it might actually be that they are checking if an IVA was missold to you.

If you are near a CAB or registered with CCCS you can ask them for further advice if it is a legitimate organisation - if you are already in an IVA then speak to your administrator.

fermi

Latest incarnation of this dodgy lot I think.

Summary: Not a barge pole in the universe long enough to touch these people with.

From: Insolvency Service statement regarding the IVA Council

The Insolvency Service would like to make it clear that we are in no way associated with an organisation called the IVA Council.

IVAs are a flexible and effective means of dealing with debt. For debtors they provide protection from creditors, debt forgiveness, flexibility in terms of what assets are included, and none of the restrictions, which apply in bankruptcy. For creditors they provide a better return than could be obtained in bankruptcy.

IVAs allow debtors to repay their creditors that which they can reasonably afford and resolve their financial problems, and are supervised by licensed and regulated insolvency professionals.

The principal statutory alternative to an IVA is bankruptcy. Bankruptcy should always be the last resort as the debtor will lose control of their assets and will be subject to bankruptcy restrictions, potentially up to 15 years.

Consequently The Insolvency Service does not condone any implication that people in IVAs should stop paying and enter bankruptcy. If you have had any communication from the IVA Council or other third parties suggesting that you stop making payments under your IVA you should discuss this with the supervisor of the IVA and seek advice from professional, qualified advisers before taking any action.

From: OFT warns consumers about misleading IVA mailings

5 June 2008 The OFT is warning consumers to be careful before responding to unsolicited mailings which advise them to cancel existing individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and which suggest they opt for an alternative debt management solution such as bankruptcy instead.

Some such mailings sent out to consumers misleadingly suggest to recipients they may have been mis-sold the IVA and/or that bankruptcy may be more suitable for their circumstances when this may not be the case. These mailings are being targeted at vulnerable consumers in IVAs by companies who appear to have accessed their personal contact details from the public register of people in IVAs which the Insolvency Service is required by law to maintain.

The OFT considers such claims to be in breach of its debt management guidance not only if they are misleading but also if they fail to explain the consequences of terminating an IVA agreement and going bankrupt which include:

• Much of the initial monies paid to a company on setting up an IVA going towards meeting the insolvency practitioner's fees and not paying off the debt itself. Therefore, if the IVA fails early on, creditors will not have received any payments, the consumer's debts will not have decreased and their financial position is likely to have worsened.
• The option of bankruptcy having far reaching consequences including consumers losing control of their assets, potentially having their home sold and facing restrictions in carrying on businesses and obtaining credit.

The OFT has issued warnings to 12 businesses and has given them four weeks to respond. They have been told to amend any misleading claims made in their IVA advertising and promotional material and to be more transparent about the possible implications for consumers if they do terminate an IVA agreement. The OFT will consider taking action against any business that fails to address our concerns. Such action could include taking steps to revoke consumer credit licences held by the business.
Ray Watson, OFT Director for Consumer Credit, said:

'Tackling companies who are engaging in unfair business practices by targeting vulnerable consumers with misleading advice and information, particularly if it leads to consumers becoming more over-indebted, is a key priority for the OFT. We expect any advice and/or information given to debtors to be in their best interests and it should include a full explanation of the implications of offers or advice.'

From: ‘IVA Council’ makes false claims | Payplan Blog

If you have recently received a letter from ‘The IVA Council’, then make sure you read this.




Recent press coverage of The IVA Council (IVAC) has exposed its false claims made in letters sent to people already in IVAs which attempt to link it to government and The Insolvency Service.

The letter’s recipient is warned that they might be a victim of mis-selling by their Insolvency Practitioner resulting in a possible refund of fees and contributions. A “government licensed debt adjuster” is offered in support of this claim.


However, The Insolvency Service has confirmed that there is no relationship between the two organisations and that its lawyers are currently investigating the situation.

Any person in an IVA who has received a letter from IVAC needs to be aware of the following:

- IVAC has no ‘Consumer Credit Licence’ number evident on its website. You need this to be able to give debt advice, according to the requirements set out by the Office of Fair Trading
- IVAC offers no ‘Data Protection’ registration details which is necessary for a business that will be recording data.
- IVAC has no ‘Limited Company’ (Ltd) details, registration number or company address which is a mandatory requirement on all emails and letters from any Ltd company
- IVAC has used the logo of IP trade body R3, which it does not have permission to do.
- Credit Today published that ‘numerous attempts’ to contact IVAC had been unsuccessful. (25 October 2007)

From: IVA Council’ Continues To Contact People In IVAs

The IVA Council (IVAC), who in October last year was forced to remove logos similar to the official Insolvency Service logos from its website, still appear to be actively sending letters to people in IVA arrangements, as recent comments on Payplan’s previous article ‘IVA Council’ makes false claims suggest.

spenderblender

If the government wanted to do something about this and I mean seriously then they should consider losing the register which gives out everyones details in IVA's or Bankruptcy which would then stop all these companies preying on people who are or have been through the mill already.

affluenza

It is a money spinner unfortunately, just like when you get one credit card and suddenly you are preapproved for x, y, and z.

I can see the point for having the register simply so that creditors can see it is true that you filed an IVA or bankruptcy but it should be done in the same way as the electoral role system.