Poor advice from Clark Richards?

My debt

I've put off applying for an IVA/DMP or filing a bankruptcy petition, but now it's crunch time. My debts are the usual mix of a huge unsecured loan for post graduate law courses (~£28k) plus £4500 in overdraft and credit card debt from 2 periods of unemployment totalling about 16 months - ~£33k in total. This was manageable until I was forced to move when my flatmate decided it was time to live with his girlfriend. Now that I paying ~ 40% more rent + rates I'm insolvent because I'm unable make my loan payments each month.

Clark Richards

I've done my research and I know roughly what I need to do - but I'm through so I sought professional advice. One of the online assessment things I filled out was with Clark Richards. I was out of the country when I did this. In the space of 3 days CR called me 12 times. In 10 days they tried to call me 20 times - I couldn't answer the phone or reply for lack of PAYG credit. I guess this was my first indication that they're crap :/

The crux of it really came down to their advice. Their 'telephone consultant', 40 minutes late for the appointment, talked me through my debt and said that the best option was bankruptcy, and that I'd have to pay 70% of my discretionary income to the OR... Which I believe is wrong - it's now 100% of my residue income over £5 and it has been since this time last year. The TC admitted that he ought to know this, to which I could only reply with "Yes. Yes you really should", and promptly ended the conversation.

Am I wrong or are all the IVA providers like this?

J

Comments

  • debtinfo
    debtinfo Posts: 7,012 Forumite
    yes you are wrong, although you are much nearer the mark.

    Unsuprisingly not all members of this proffesion or any other all have exactly the same level of competence or customer service
    Hi, im Debtinfo, i am an ex insolvency examiner and over the years have personally dealt with thousands of bankruptcy cases.
    Please note that any views i put forth are not those of my former employer The Insolvency Service and do not constitute professional advice, you should always seek professional advice before entering insolvency proceedings.
  • Might I suggest you pop over to https://www.iva.com and speak to several of the firms represented there. There are reviews to assist in your choice. The forum at https://www.iva.co. uk is also worth a visit.
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