IVA issues

Lulu63 · 13 September 2019 at 12:15AM

Hello everyone, I’ve just joined the forum and hoping some of you can help me with some issues I’m having with my IVA provider.
Ok, so in March 2018 I entered into an IVA to settle 48k of debts.
I’ve been paying £300 monthly which over the five years would of meant a repayment of 18k.
A clause was set within the agreement that in the event of receiving any money from a pension then that could no be touched by my creditors and an early settlement could be entered into using pension money. (25% tax free cash). This was my plan from the outset as I turned 55 in September 2018.

When my agreement was being drawn up my IVA supervisor advised me that if I was to benefit in a will then I should ask the person (in this case my Mother) to have any inheritance left in trust. For whatever reason my Mother didn’t do this and died in May of last year 4 months before I could of settled with my tax free cash.

My mother was one of my creditors and during the set up period none of my creditors voted at the creditors meeting. I was advised to get my Mother to vote in favour so that the IVA could go ahead, which she did.

Roll forward to July of this year when all her assets had been sold and realised and it’s pay out time for the inheritance.
All my inheritance was paid over to the IVA provider (which I understood would happen) and shortly after I received an email from them telling me what I would have to pay my creditors in full, the charges associated with administration and finalising the IVA and that I would have to pay 8% interest pa on the debt. With regards to the charges and 8% interest I was floored by the amount. They come to around about 28k!

So out came the contract, yes I understand that in effect an inheritance is classed as windfall so I have to pay the charges but there’s noting in the contract or any other paperwork about the 8%. I spoke to a friend of mine who had recently been in an IVA and the charges on her debt where capped at 15% by the creditors.

So I sent a lengthy email to my IVA provider to ask why mY charges were so high. He explained that at the creditors meeting the creditors were ok paying the hourly rate for charges. Now I start sniffing a rat! There was no creditors meeting as my mother was the only one that voted so in effect it looks to me that the IVA provider have set the hourly rate and not been challenged by the creditors as she wouldn’t know otherwise.

I’ve sent further emails to point out about the issue with creditors meetings and the 8% interest clause not being on any of the paperwork but they have now stopped replying and taking my calls.

In summary, thanks to those that have read this far, I feel that as the IVA supervisor was told about the will and trust business, the fact that the one and only creditor that voted for my IVA didn’t set or cap the charges and that the 8% interest isn’t mentioned anywhere that I’ve not been treated fairly and been informed. If they had come to me in the first place and said ok if your Mother dies and you inherit in the next5/6 years then it’s to going to cost you around about 80k to pa off 48k debt then I wouldn’t of gone ahead. I would of carried on paying my creditors at £1 a month and when I received a windfall would of negotiated with my creditors to pay them off.

Sorry the above is so long and I really appreciate you getting this far with it. I’m just looking for peoples thoughts really positive or negative. I’m toying with the idea of ha,moving an hour with a solicitor.

Thanks again
Lulu63