Problems with IVA company

MUMZ2BEE

I have been in my IVA since June 2012.

My IVA is with Debt Free Direct.

For starters, what concerns me is that they took my Disability Living Allowance as income, and failed to set asside health care costs for my disabilities, which meant I was left with no money.

Then, they claimed I was getting in total £962 per month.

This is not the case, I showed bank statements to dispute this figure.

All they agreed to set aside for was £250 per month for vet costs as my cat is a diabetic and needs regular vet care.

I wrote to them a stinking letter of complaint earlier this year about the setting up of my IVA; and said lots of things in the complaint I was not happy with.

When they wrote back with their final response, I was horrified at the amount of lies they had told in this letter to try and cover themselves.

Firstly, they said that I had asked about bankruptcy and I was worried abut the affect it would have on my job and property.

I do not own any property, and I was on sickness benefit!!

Also, they said they claimed to have set aside £250 for heath care costs; I submitted an income and expenditure which I had sent into them at the yearly review setting aside £250 for vet costs.

I also told them in my complaint letter that I had been wrongly paying into an IVA; in July 2014 after the yearly review, I telephoned National Debtline and went through income and expenditure, they said I qualified for a DRO because DLA had been disregarded.

I also have concerns that out of the £2790 I paid into the IVA, they have only sent across £158 to my creditors.

Debt Free Direct held a variation meeting in December 2014 with my creditors to discuss about closing the IVA, they have now refused and I dont know why they have not said.

I could have been debt free by now if they had cancelled the IVA as I origionaly requested over a year ago.

So, I have now gone to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Debt Free Direct have until 9th July to respond.

When I phone them yesterday, DFD had failed to supply the business file.

I have requested that I be refunded all the money I had paid into the IVA and that DFD have refused to cancel as I requested last year.

If DFD fail to respond with the business file, what happens after that?

National_Debtline

Hi there,

An IVA is legally binding and whilst you are within your rights to complain (especially if you think it was mis-sold), it would be quite rare to have money refunded from an IVA.

If you can no longer afford your IVA and stop the payments then it would normally fail in 3 months (or so). Once it has failed you could consider other ways to deal with the debts – such as a DRO. Insolvency options (like IVA’s and DRO’s) are big options and full advice would be recommendable before going any further.

Laura
@natdebtline

MUMZ2BEE

National_Debtline wrote: »

Hi there,

An IVA is legally binding and whilst you are within your rights to complain (especially if you think it was mis-sold), it would be quite rare to have money refunded from an IVA.

If you can no longer afford your IVA and stop the payments then it would normally fail in 3 months (or so). Once it has failed you could consider other ways to deal with the debts – such as a DRO. Insolvency options (like IVA’s and DRO’s) are big options and full advice would be recommendable before going any further.

Laura
@natdebtline

The problem I am having is that the VA company have refused to close the IVA down.

My complaint is being investigated by the FOS.

I asked them last year to cancel, I cannot progress with a DRO because they wont close IVA down.

glentoran99

surely if you stopped paying them it would soon close?

National_Debtline

If you have already stopped making the payments and the IVA Company are refusing to fail the IVA and/or give you the failure certificate then that complaint should be escalated to the Insolvency Service.


This may help – https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-insolvency-practitioner


Laura
@natdebtline