IVA's are Being Mis-sold and Misrepresented

sandralovescats

scootw1 wrote:

I earn 1361 a month and pay £535 into an IVA. I guess I'm doing okay compared to som ebut not so favourable compared to others. I have thought about bankruptcy but I'm not sure if it will really help me that much as I would still pay a hefty amount for 3 years. I dont know if my IP will agree to lowering my IVA payments just so I can have a bit of money for "entertainment". i don't know what the judge would say when told some (a couple of hundred i would say) of my debt was from fruit machines over a period of time.Not sure if they would let me do it or if it going to be beneficial for me

All that would happen is that you might be given a BRU, which would restrict your getting credit for another period of time - 1-15 years.

The IVA system makes you pay ALL your disposable income back to the IP. Bankruptcy is roughly half, although higher up the scale the higher the percentage becomes.

Are you thinking of going bankrupt?

scootw1

Yes I am. Dont know how much better off I would be on my wage though and whether the IP will accept it

davethecue

Rog2 said
Funnily enough, though, the IVA does not stop there - in the ten days since I was declared bankrupt, I have been targetted by over 20 companies trying to entice me into an IVA which will, their words, 'annul my bankruptcy' and 'turn the clock back'. I don't want to turn the clock back:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Hi
I also have had loads of correspondence from 'debt companies' offering the same
I've heard of cold calling but this takes the biscuit. Do they think that we just woke up one morning and said 'hey let's go bankrupt today'

There should be a law against these mailshots targeting the vulnerable
Ijust saw an article where a solicitor was giving criminals money for using them on legal aid. It wouldn't surprise me if the same was happening with some of the new debt companies that are springing up. It would be interesting to know who owns/onthe board/paid advisors etc
End of Rant

sandralovescats

That is just incredible!

I fail to see how you could go from being declared bankrupt in Court, to an IVA? Are these people mad?

Bossyboots

sandralovescats wrote:

So what!

Also, you cannot be an accountant either !

Basically, an IVA and bankruptcy are the same thing, except for the amount of money you pay back

They might be the same mechanically, but their impact can have significantly different consequences. If you are a solicitor, the differences are enormous. A solicitor with an IVA can practice under a recognised supervisor. They cannot run their own firm, but they can earn a living in employment. As a bankrupt they cannot.

This fundamental difference meant that one of our local firms, that had been a family run firm for more years than I care to remember, closed its doors one Thursday evening never to open again. Everyone lost their jobs (and this was not a small firm) and clients had to find new solicitors. Most of the clients only found out when they rang to speak to their solicitor or, five weeks later, saw a story in the local paper. Perhaps you would like to say so what to the all those staff and clients who suffered as a result of this bankruptcy. With an IVA, a plan could have been put into place to save the company.

A bankruptcy can impact on your life immediately, an IVA can throw you a lifeline.

While you might consider being a school governor important, nor want to be an accountant or solicitor, that does not mean others feel the same and it is wrong to say that there is no difference between bankruptcy and IVA when for many people it will make the difference between earning a living in their chosen profession or scratching around for a living.

scootw1

Is/has anyone else on here been in about the same position as me? About the same amounts on their proposals, salary etc?

rog2

davethecue wrote:

Rog2 said
Funnily enough, though, the IVA does not stop there - in the ten days since I was declared bankrupt, I have been targetted by over 20 companies trying to entice me into an IVA which will, their words, 'annul my bankruptcy' and 'turn the clock back'. I don't want to turn the clock back:rolleyes:

Hi
I also have had loads of correspondence from 'debt companies' offering the same
I've heard of cold calling but this takes the biscuit. Do they think that we just woke up one morning and said 'hey let's go bankrupt today'

There should be a law against these mailshots targeting the vulnerable
Ijust saw an article where a solicitor was giving criminals money for using them on legal aid. It wouldn't surprise me if the same was happening with some of the new debt companies that are springing up. It would be interesting to know who owns/onthe board/paid advisors etc
End of Rant[/QUOTE]

It's just that the whole 'debt' scene tends to attract this 'Vulture Culture' of profiteering scavengers happy to feed off of other people's misfortunes:mad: :mad:
Nothing wrong with a good rant Dave:beer:

rog2

Bossyboots wrote:

Actually, there is huge difference between bankruptcy and an IVA.

Two examples - you cannot be a school governor if you have ever been declared bankrupt. You can if you had an IVA.

You cannot practise as a solicitor while you are bankrupt and you will also not be allowed to handle client money should you be able to practise in the future. You are allowed to practise as a solicitor with an IVA although you are not allowed to be responsible for client money.

Quite agree BB, but that, surely, is not the point of the thread, is it?
The main question raised is about mis-selling, or mis-representing IVAs. A properly administered IVA is, as you say, a preferable alternative to those whose profession, or life, would be ruined by the stamp of bankrupcy. However there are just so many companies 'jumping on the bandwagon' by offering just about anyone the 'chance to wipe off up to 75% of their debts' without focusing on the serious aspect of an IVA and just how it could impact on them, purely in the interests of earning their fees.
How, for example, would these companies react in the case of an IVA failure?

sandralovescats

Some of the companies are offering up to 90% wiped off the sum owed. In reality, the creditors expect more than 35% for an IVA to be viable.

This one item, itself, is malpractice.

rog2

sandralovescats wrote:

That is just incredible!

I fail to see how you could go from being declared bankrupt in Court, to an IVA? Are these people mad?

If they are not, then they must assume that we are:mad: :mad: