Debtmatters and IVA's

smidles1

Please help,

Back in 2006 I entered into an IVA with the company debt matters.
For three months I was a client of there's. It was agreed that I was going to pay £300 a month to the company for five years and then I would be debt free. Unfortunately three months into the agreement my income changed and I was no longer in a position to pay the monthly payment. I approached the company and got no response.
The letters from my creditors started to arrive to which I just buried my head in the sand.
In march 2010 I filed for bankruptcy with the help of the citizen advice bureau. I was told that Debtmatters should have advised me that bankruptcy was the best thing for me to do given my circumstances.
I recently reviewed the paper work (as I am now 18 months out of the initial bankruptcy period) I realised that the £900 that Debtmatters collected from me had not gone anywhere. It seems that the money had been used for administration costs.
Can that really be the case?
Is there anything I can do to get this back?
I know that it is a long time ago but can the company really justify these charges?
Awaiting some advice.
Thanks

DebtCompanyInsider

Hi smidles1.

The fees associated with setting up your IVA will likely have been much more than £900. Debtmatters will therefore almost certainly have been entitled to retain the £900 you paid towards those fees.

If it's any consolation at all Debtmatters will almost certainly have suffered a book loss on your case.

Gimpsdad

WHy do you think you were mis-advised? You entered an IVA with a £300 surplus income to pay over. Whilst it isn't your fault that your circumstances changed, neither is it the fault of debtmatters. An IVA takes usually about 6 to 8 weeks to set up minimum, during which time you will have been advised by your IP that BR may have been an option for you, and also all fees and charges would have been disclosed to you prior to creditors meeting, you will have signed to the effect that you were happy with this. You can hardly argue that you were rushed into it, so I would let sleeping dogs lie if I were you as it is an argument that you have no hope of winning.

amos01_2

Been told to post here :-) Can anyone help, I have settled my IVA early but am awaiting my completion certificate, I am also awaiting a PPI payment which will go towards increasing my dividend. Can anyone tell me regarding windfalls how the Statutory interest calculated?

Anondebtadvisor

Statutory interest is calculated by multiplying the sum of debt by the interest rate and the number of days the payment is late and dividing it by 365. The daily rate is calculated by multiplying the debt by the interest rate and then dividing this by 365.

If your contract is dated before 7 August 2002, the late payment interest rate is 8 per cent plus the Bank of England base rate that was in place on the date the payment became overdue. You can find information on the Bank of England bank rate history on the Bank of England website.

For contracts dated on or after 7 August 2002, the late payment interest rate is 8 per cent plus the current reference rate. The reference rate for payments that became overdue between 1 January and 30 June is the Bank of England base rate on 31 December the previous year. For payments that became overdue between 1 July and 31 December, the reference rate is the Bank of England base rate on 30 June that year.

For example:

If the base or reference rate for the six month period when the debt became overdue is 0.5 per cent, then the statutory interest charge is 8.5 per cent (0.5 per cent base/reference rate plus 8 per cent).

The debt is £851.06 plus £148.94 VAT = total £1,000

If this debt is 30 days late, then the interest owed is:

£1,000 x 8.5 per cent = £85 (the annual rate)

£85 / 365 = 23p (the daily rate)

23p x 30 days = £6.90 (the interest owed to date)

This tool enables you to calculate the statutory interest due on an overdue payment. You are also able to claim compensation under the late payment legislation and this will be included in your results. The rate of compensation you are entitled to is as follows:

Size of debtAmount of compensationUp to £999.99£40£1,000 to £9,999.99£70Over £10,000£100
Also remember to include VAT in the total value of the invoice you enter. </SPAN>

Anondebtadvisor

You can find a simple calculator here http://www.bllaw.co.uk/services_for_businesses/insolvency_and_recovery/simple_interest_calculator.aspx