Looking for an IVA IP recommendation.

debtinfo

FoggyBrain wrote: »

OK --- CCCS are a charity, yes, but in an IVA they get exactly the same fee structure as a private firm. They, along with Payplan, also lean heavily on "donations" from the banking sector .... bit like the fox employing the hounds! That said, they suit some people, so always worth chatting to them.

Lloyds heavily promote Payplan .. one has to ask why.

What you need to do is gen up yourself, so you know the basics and then chat to a few firms. You can then judge if they give the same sort of advice, a lot will rely on gut instinct too. Don't go with a firm who has cold called you and don't use a firm that ask for fees up front ( some will ask for the first payment, but will agree to return it if the proposal isn't accepted). See how thorough / realistic they are working out your income and expenditure. This is very important ... if they are too casual about it, what else will they be casual about ?

All IVA companies have their fees paid through the ongoing IVA payments including the charities, that is mainly the for the proposal part and seperately for the supervision part, but that doesent mean they charge exactly the same fees, even if it is in the same catagories, so there may be something to look at there although provided that you finish the IVA then that matters less as whatever the split between the IVA and the creditors that does not affect the insolvents payments.

One thing to remember though is that a debt charity only needs to cover its costs where as a private company has to do that plus a healthy profit for its owners, as far as i can see there are only 3 ways to do that, charge more, offer a worse service or to simply be more efficient

People can look for reviews but remember that certain websites (not this one of course) remove posts if they dont like the contents, of course difficult to tell if the complaints are genuine or people spouting "bit like the fox employing the hounds"

one persuasive argument may be that the government recommends the charities, but in the end it is really how comfortable you feel in dealing with the person you speak to, after all it is going to be a long relationship

FoggyBrain_2

Hi Debtinfo -- what, pray, is rubbish about the fox paying the hounds? It is a fact that the charities are heavily funded by the banks. I don't accuse you of "spouting rubbish" even though I don't agree with everything you say -- I would appreciate the same courtesy.

As for fees .... I didn't say they get exactly the same fees. What I said was, as you yourself said in different words, they get exactly the same fee STRUCTURE ... ie, the fees are agreed by the creditors and paid out of the IVA repayments.

As for Government recommendation being a persuasive arguement: It depends upon which way the Government recommendation persuades you ! They have also agreed to RBS investment bankers getting £399 million in bonus payments, whilst doubling the years losses. Doesn't make it a good thing.

darlyn

Cody -

Just thought I'd add my two-pennith to the mix.....

I used Payplan for my IVA (finished last year). In MY experience they were absolutely spot on. Everything went according to plan with no nasty surprises or errors.

Good luck.:)

Gimpsdad

The charities don't work for free, simple as that. For IVA's they are commercial like everyone else, anyone that imagines Insolvency Practitioners/Accountants work for nothing is mis-informed I'm afraid.

For DMP's they are paid by creditors so even there it isn't a case of no cost, just a case of the costs being met by someone other than the debtor. None of the staff at payplan or cccs are volunteers and work for nothing, despite the impression that seems to be given to that end almost everywhere. As for why commercial companies exist, it is simply that the charitiy businesses cannot cope with the scale of the problem.

Anondebtadvisor

I recently heard of someone waiting 10weeks for a telephone appointment with a "charity" they really are inundated with people calling looking for help as Gimpsdad has said

National_Debtline

Anondebtadvisor wrote: »

I recently heard of someone waiting 10weeks for a telephone appointment with a "charity" they really are inundated with people calling looking for help as Gimpsdad has said

Not sure which charity that is but anyone calling National Debtline will speak to a money adviser straight away. We can't vouch for any of the other charities.

As far as IVAs are concerned we would only suggest using a provider that adheres to the IVA protocol. Most of the more well known providers do.

FoggyBrain_2

Possibly the solution providers, I know CCCS are pretty backed up

Cody

Hello Everyone;

Interesting to see the discussion goes on in my abscence .

I was going to ask this on a new thread as is quite specific, but having returned to this post, will place it here.

First, a quick summary.

I have a debt of ~£75K which I am hoping to deal with by a lump sum IVA (although bankruptcy doesnt appear a less reasonable option in my particular situation...but thats another discussion). Debt caused by a failed business, which I worked tirelessly to make a success for 7 years.

I have been through the mire in last year, turning point (for my mental health) was day I accepted it was impossible for me to ever meet my debts, and to accept I needed to enter some form of insolvency.

So, on the actual subject of this thread;

I intend to make a decision on choosing an IVA firm this week. I have spoken to CCCS, Payplan, Melanie Giles and a Mcambridge duffy.

CCCS have been brilliant with advice, very quick and prompt, generally getting a call back within a few hours from the person who knew my case. They told me CCCS would take about 15% of the lump sum.

Payplan I have spoken to only twice, but again very effiecient and prompt and clear communication. The person I spoke to, when asked, said they took no fees at all, all of the lump sum went to the creditors.

Melanie Giles. I spoke to a lady there who really drilled down into my finances, was persoable, knowledgable and sounded like she really cared and understood my situation. When i asked about fees, she didnt give a figure, avoided it, but gve reasons that it varies from case to case. What she DID say that interested me was that it shouldnt be the fees that IVAs charge for lump sums that it the decider, but the success rate of that firm when submitting IVAs. This kind of makes sense to me, at the end of the day, Its not important to me how much percentage the iva firm gets, what is important is the offer being accepted. If a firm has a 75% success rate and charges 5%, but another is 99% success but charges 10%...I'd go with the later. (assuming they think I have a good chance of success and are willing to submit my offer).

Not sure where I am going with this and waffling slightly...I am currently erring towards Melanie Giles since as someone said 'we gelled/geled' and they apparently have a 99% success rate for IVAs.

So, I suppose my question is, does a table exist of success rates for IVA firms negotiating lump sum deals?, if not then I expect isnt too difficult to create one, with 30 minutes of phone calls.

Many, many thanks

Cody

FoggyBrain_2

Hi. I don't know of any success rate table. However, the IP's would not put a proposal forward that they weren't confident would be accepted. No acceptance means they have done a fair amount of work for nothing. I must admit I have seen very few refusals over the last 18 months.

I don't know how Payplan work the fees structure around lump sum IVA's, but do know that they get funding from the banks in any case and that they charge in the same way as other firms for 5 year term IVA's. They WILL be getting their cut somehow.

If you need to see a little more about how the companies work, pop over to https://www.iva.co.uk many firms post over there and you can get a feel for them there.

Personally, of the firms you have referred to, I would have gone with Melanie Giles, as I know she and her firm actually CARE about their clients. However, you will find many that will recommend the others too --- at the end of the day, they are all reputable firms.

StepChange_Pavan

FoggyBrain wrote: »

Possibly the solution providers, I know CCCS are pretty backed up

Hi Foggybrain,

To confirm our waiting times: we are usually able to offer next day appointments with IVA advisors, and the maximum wait is around 3 to 4 days.

Whenever anyone calls CCCS for the first time, they are able to speak to a helpline advisor straightaway - we have the facility to transfer directly to a counsellor if the client has all the necessary information to hand.

Regards,
Pavan