IVA paid off a year ago, Grant Thornton won't close it

poi

I have an IVA with Grant Thornton. It was previoulsy with one of the other bloodsuckers, but it was sold to them a couple of years ago. I made my final IVA payment in April 2012. It had already been extended by around six months as I had been forced to reduce my payments when my circumstances changed. I was delighted to finally get access to my own money again.

I was looking forward to getting my closure notice so that I could finally put this whole painful process behind me. I was told that this could take up to six months. Mad that it take so long, but what could I do? Nothing.

In July 2012, Grant Thornton informed me that they had appointed EIC to pursue PPI claims on my behalf, as it had been decided that money due from a claim should go into my IVA. I was told it was optional. I declined to give permission, as I did not have any PPI.

EIC then contacted me, in spite of my refusing permission for my data to be handed to them. I told them I would not be providing any information as I had no PPI.

Many phone calls from EICV and GT later, and I have had enough. I rang GT this morning asking when my IVA would be formally closed. They can't tell me. Apparently my case will be going into some mass creditor meeting in a few weeks.

I explained that this was unnacceptable as I had made my final payment in April 12, so should have been closed already. But no, as it takes six months to close a case, I am still caught in their web.

They will call me tomorrow about getting my case bumped into a special creditors meeting, but I hold out exactly zero hope of that call happening.

They insist that they had no choice but to claim the PPI, even though the issue didn't arise until after my IVA was paid up.

How can it be fair and legal for them to delay closure like this, seemingly indefinitely?

Does anyone have the name and address of their complaints team? If I get no joy there, I will be off the the Insolvency Service, who are supposed to regulate these bloodsuckers. Is it maybe also worth my bringing a complaint on data protection grounds as I had refused permission for GT to hand my data over?

Anondebtadvisor

I dont have the details of the complaints team but if you ask them i am sure they will provide you with the details.

You can also write to the Insolvency Practitioner’s own regulatory body via the Insolvency Service Complaints Gateway at http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/contact-us/IP-Complaints-Gateway

milliemonster

The MVM you talk about is to ask creditors to allow GT to close off completed IVA's while they continue to pursue PPI reclaims and also sort out the VAT issue (GT are trying to get VAT refunded on payments made to them when they have picked up cases that were previously with other companies), these are what the delays are and whether you like it or not, unfortunately for you PPI and VAT have come about over the last year of so and are affecting many IVA's that are completing now.

you can complain all you like, but the IS will be behind GT all the way as they have to realise as much as they can for creditors (and their own coffers obviously) PPI and VAT come into this bracket. The best you can do if you want closure is to cooperate as much as possible

poi

So I should just through my hands in the air, turn tail, and allow them to continue to hold me hostage? There is no PPI to claim.

I have no idea about any VAT issue, that hasn't been mentioned in any letters from GT.

I wish I had gone for bankruptcy instead. That would have been long dealt with. IVA? Second biggest mistake I made after getting into debt int he first place.

milliemonster

There is nothing you can do apart from cooperate, it's all very well saying there is no ppi, I know plenty of people who said the same and when investigated they actually found some, just let them get on with it instead of being obstinate, it will get you what you want quicker.

GT have their faults absolutely, but they have to abide by the rules, nothing you have told me in your first post shows that they aren't following the rules which would give you grounds for Taking this to the IS. By all means badger on at Gt to get some answers but by being antagonistic you are just going to drag this out longer

poi

Wow. then there really is no hope. Waiting on GT to sort anything I will die of old age.

Vikipollard

I had the same thing happen to me with GT Poi. I too got the call about PPI (from EIC) a month before my IVA payments were to end. Told them I didnt believe I'd been missold anything, ergo no claim to make. Heard nothing more. Same speech from GT about 6 months closure.

Feb 2013 (5 months after payments stop) and EIC are back on and they tell me that I have to let them claim PPI. I tell them this is fraud, because it wasnt missold, but they tell me that GT will not close the IVA until I sign the s*dding forms. GT confirm this when I ring them, irate.

So I signed the s*dding forms, noting on them that any fraud was being perpetuated by EIC as I was being forced to sign.

Fast forward to June when I contact GT yet again, as I have had no contact from them in nine months other than when I've contacted them. Apparently my MVM took place in May and I have a new fictional closure date of eight weeks from then. So you can bet your !!! that I will be emailing in the next four weeks with the excerpt from their last communique making that bold statement.

Sadly, as you have been advised, you have no choice but to comply, regardless of any ethics here.

I do think it should be mandatory, though, that they have to close all IVAs within six months. Let's face it, they've had at least five (and in my case, six) years to get their sh*t together. The process is the same in 90% of cases. Why wait until after the end date to have the appropriate mechanisms ready to go.

poi

Completion cert has arrived. Apparently losing your rag at them does help.

cardomon

poi wrote: »

Completion cert has arrived. Apparently losing your rag at them does help.

Thats great news gives a few of us some hope

Isis_Black

Oh don't get me started on EIC
We agreed to the ppi claim and thought sod it let them sort it but bloody hell wasn't expecting call after call asking for info from us
Lost count of how many calls we've had now repeating ourselves time and time again that we have all info in the first call that lasted a good hour!!!
Now one lot if ppi has been successful and been paid to GT but we've not see the 8% interest we should be given, I foresee them scamming it so they keep that as well as the main ppi amount!

nickyching

thi story is so much like mine we completed in july 2012 was told we would have completion certificate in 6 months as thats how long it takes to complete i then phoned them again 6 months later to find out what is happening they came up with excuses after excuses then said about the ppi claims which is holding it up i waited another 3 months then phoned them again the lines were busy so left message for them to ring me and was told they would ring within 24 hours well suprise suprise i got no phone call back so the next week again i phoned again left same message and was told they will ring within 24 hours well they never rang so in the end i wrote them a not so nice email demanding they get back to me within 30 days with my original contract details as i have misplaced them and demanding they send me the completion certificate within 30 days or i am taking the matter further, also told them in the email how we have been messed around and lied to on the phone several times and i am not happy well 30 days had passed and i did not here anything so waited another week and finally they sent the completion certificate with a claws that i have completed but grant thornton are entitled to claim bac all are ppi and we had to help them do it, so begrudgingly we have helped them and a yr as passed and still not sorted all the ppi back yet so now it is a waiting game and wants they have finallised every ppi claim we will get 8%back but not till its all finished and then passed over to grant thorntons which then we have to rely on them to be fare and refund the 8% in a reaonable amount of time lol yh right they are all gonna hold on to it as long as possible so they can gain more interest on it