IVA support and discussion thread

Depth_Charge

Find_The_Real wrote: »

A very good link DC however I think I am far too cynical that the MoJ will actually do what it says and fine people, after all OFCOM also has rules in place and there has been very little action on CLID, dialler drops and checking against the TPS before calling.

If the MoJ really want to back up their PR of getting tough on firms, they need to make it much more clearer about who to contact to complain, with a very quick easy process. However I don't think they would have the manpower to be able to follow up the deluge of complaints. Plus going back the issues especially where telephone calls are concerned, quite often it is not always clear who is actually calling.

Hi

I am in the cynics club, always have been:)

Yer wont be far wrong by the way!

My take

DC

Find_The_Real

Well I got my renewals for the house and car insurance through this week and they have been pretty reasonable with a reduction in the car insurance. They aren't the cheapest which I know is totally not MSE but the excess is reasonable and the monthly payment interest for the car insurance is not quite so eye-watering as some companies out there. So I will stick with them for at least another year as it also saves trying to go through a credit check with anyone else.

Plus it is with the Co-op and they could really do with my business at the moment as they weren't so 'Good with money' after all.

UpToMyNeckInIt

FocusQueen12 wrote: »

UTMNII

I have had car insurance on monthly payments with One Call for most of IVA years and they fixed contract for 3 years so price stays same, not sure how premiums compare with the market at moment though. Might be option for you.

I do agree that any extra money does seem to come in one hand and then go straight out of the other :-) nothing changes there!!!

Enjoying reading your thread :-) hope it continues..........

Thanks again FQ: 'One-Call' came up as the cheapest on the price-comparison sites for me. They allow pay-monthly and despite upgrading the legal and breakdown cover, they were still a staggering £300 cheaper than my renewal quote.

Thanks as well to all of you that responded with your insurance suggestions - a big help.

Find_The_Real

Good news UTMNII that you have also managed to sort out your car insurance with a good saving. It is very helpful when people can suggest companies they have used with no problems.

Find_The_Real

Just a small update from me. All has been very quiet since the IVA was approved how today was exciting as I received a genuine PPI form from my creditors. I'm not sure if it was because my IVA firm has investigated as it only had the two loans on there I had mentioned and were on my credit files or it could just be coincidence.

Anyway one thing that has always worried me is that I may be forced to claim for PPI when I know I was happy to have the product. I was trained in the selling of it having worked for a financial institution in the past and I was concerned that I will still have to claim regardless as there have seemed to be a number of horror stories from certain IVA firms basically stating you must claim or we will fail your IVA type thing.

A quick email to my admin team reassured me this was not the case and I could reply stating I did not wish to claim because I was happy with the product, which was really reassuring. This certainly highlights the case of just how different firms are over the whole PPI fiasco and how choosing the right IP who you can trust, can contact and get a response, and can have a great relationship is probably the most important thing to consider when choosing which firm to go with.

Depth_Charge

Find_The_Real wrote: »

Just a small update from me. All has been very quiet since the IVA was approved how today was exciting as I received a genuine PPI form from my creditors. I'm not sure if it was because my IVA firm has investigated as it only had the two loans on there I had mentioned and were on my credit files or it could just be coincidence.

Anyway one thing that has always worried me is that I may be forced to claim for PPI when I know I was happy to have the product. I was trained in the selling of it having worked for a financial institution in the past and I was concerned that I will still have to claim regardless as there have seemed to be a number of horror stories from certain IVA firms basically stating you must claim or we will fail your IVA type thing.

A quick email to my admin team reassured me this was not the case and I could reply stating I did not wish to claim because I was happy with the product, which was really reassuring. This certainly highlights the case of just how different firms are over the whole PPI fiasco and how choosing the right IP who you can trust, can contact and get a response, and can have a great relationship is probably the most important thing to consider when choosing which firm to go with.

Hi

Very interesting and another controversial issue in the world of IVAs (PPI)

How can there be different policies and procedures has to be a fair question!

Just my take

Find_The_Real

Well I don't think the PPI issue is ever going to go away but I certainly agree that it does open up the whole debate about how much variance there is on is.

Having already completed one PPI claim what struck me was the FOS questionnaire that needs to be completed and the declaration which you have to sign that it is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge.

My reasoning has always been that I am not going to sign something like this with false information but I do wonder if some firms are insistent that you have to sign you have been mis-sold it when you have not. It would be interesting if anyone wanted to share their experiences with dealing PPI in an IVA to see just how widespread the problem was.

Like you have said DC, how can there be such a difference and do some firms see this as if you had PPI you must have been mis-sold it and therefore have to make a claim?

UpToMyNeckInIt

FTR,

You raise a very good point: You were knowingly sold PPI, and were happy with the reassurance that it no doubt provided at the time. Consequently, you quite rightly don't feel this product was mis-sold, and in all good conscience therefore, you will not put in a claim.

Glad that your IVA firm are OK with this as well.

Worryingly though, this is not the case for many. There are reports of IVA customers who feel the same way as you, but their IVA firm is requiring that they attempt to reclaim anyway.

I suspect that many more ex-PPI customers (not in IVA's) also took it out knowingly, but are now jumping on the 'claim-it-back' band-wagon anyway - purely because it is so easy to do so.

I suppose the allegation that could be made then against the IVA customer, is that they have an interest in declaring that their ppi was not mis-sold, (even if it was), as knocking a PPI investigation on the head could speed up the completion process.

I think the problem then is that too few IVA firms take the time to suss out the genuinely happy PPI customers, from those who may have been mis-sold the product, but who are instead acting in their own interests to get their completion paperwork ASAP (I do sympathise and understand that position naturally).

Factor in the 15% of any successful claim that typically goes to the IP, plus the 30% to the PPI claim firm (add VAT to both of those of course) and it is easy to conclude that these firms in many cases are more concerned with their own financial interests, regardless of whether or not the ppi was mis-sold or not.

It would help if these companies, were not so slow in sorting the claims out, and taking 50% of it.

If a fairer PPI percentage went to the creditors, together with the promise of some kind of 'fast-track' completion process, in exchange for full cooperation, my guess is that most IVA customers would go for that.

Personally, I always refused PPI, so have let 'Mitchell Farrar' and 'Equity in Finance' investigate on my behalf (50% of nothing is still nothing). Fair play: if they find something, it has definitely been mis-sold in my case.

But they cannot even get that right: They did not send me letters of authority to investigate some of my creditors. I have pointed this out in an email to both firms asking them to send letters to ALL of my creditors. Guess what? 2 Months on - no reply to my enquiry. BONE IDLE laziness on their part.

I shall of course chase this up, because if I don't, you can bet your life that, just before my IVA completes, only then will they realise this, and want to do a last minute grant-thornton-esque PPI job on me!!!

Find_The_Real

I have to say my firm is very much all about the client and not how much money they can make from them, which I am eternally grateful for.

I fully appreciate that they have to investigate all assets but it is probably just as well that I am not with one of those firms who insist of a claim being made because I would challenge it.

In a way it seems to be that some IP's are employing the same tactics as the creditors in hounding people until they wear them down and the person gives in over the PPI issue in order to conclude the IVA and move on with their lives. I don't think this is right and that more people should challenge this but it does take a strong person to stand up to these large factory-like IVA companies and I can completely understand that after 5-6 long years on living the IVA life, there is a sense that you will do anything in order for it to be fully over and the certificate obtained.

I certainly think there should be more avenues of complaint when people are literally bullied over the issue but I am not sure that will happen when you so importantly point out UTMNII at just how much additional money can be made when a claim is successful.

Good luck with your own claim process, especially as you have mentioned EIF are in the mix

UpToMyNeckInIt

Yes FTR, you are represented by someone who is probably about the best in the business.

After yesterday's rant, I fired off another email chasing up my IVA firm & EIF, because I want the PPI thing done and dusted as soon as is reasonably possible, to avoid delays later on in the process.

I understand your point about the 'IVA Factories'. Sadly, I don't think my firm are especially large in the grand scheme of things compared to the likes of GT, ClearDebt, DebtFree Direct etc. But their customer service is truly awful (a great shame, because I used to have a really good case officer, but my new point of contact is blinkin' useless). Still, nothing so bad as to warrant a formal complaint (yet), but they are slowly but surely, eroding my patience.

Back to the PPI thing: Yes, most IVA customers on their final year understandably want it behind them. The last thing you need is an 11th-hour PPI investigation.

The ONLY thing I would say in defence of the IVA industry in this matter, is that the court ruling on reclaiming PPI is a relatively recent one. Inevitably therefore, some customers will get caught out last minute. The length of time taken for the subsequent investigation is inexcusable in many cases though, and I think as you have intimated in your last post, EIF are not exactly renowned for their speed (God forbid they actually have to ‘work’ for their 30% + VAT of any successful claim!).