IVA Fraud

HotConstruction93

Hiya,

I am hoping for some input and your thoughts about my current situation with The Insolvency Group.

I became homeless on July 22nd 2025. This was part of a group effort to help get me away from my best friend. Basically I was a victim of cuckooing. I thought he was like my brother, but he wasn't. He isolated me from friends, demanded (and succeeded) in removing people from my life, brought drugs into my home (where he lived rent free with the agreement that he would sort his life out, but that didn't happen... I just ended up living my life on his terms. As an accessory). He even phoned the police on August 23rd 2025 and reported himself for molesting me when I was high on drugs he gave me on Aug 17th 2024. Which was just another attempt to re-establish contact with me. Eventually I had to go into hiding, remove myself from social media. I even considered changing my name. Anyway, I am now waiting for a bipolar assessment. I was always diagnosed with ADHD back in Aus, but I think that was an incorrect diagnosis. In Australia I never drank, smoked cigarettes, and certainly had never ever touched drugs (which was why he came to me for help to get clean in the first place, but drug addicts are sneaky...), and my life had been predictable and stable. My moods were still dominated by depressive episodes, but obviously I wouldn't have been rapid cycling. I was obviously rapid cycling in the UK because of this friend and everything I was being exposed to and the lifestyle I was living, as his property. I experienced paranoia and delusions I haven't struggled with since I was a teenager.

Anyway, August I found TIG ad on Insta (this was before I deleted all my socials) and cried to them about my situation.. how I had all this debt (£6.8k) and was too unwell to work. I just wanted the interest to stop while I found a new job and got support for my wellbeing.

I was told to lie by the man who was helping me. He had put my ex-bestfriend down as my partner (even though I explained to him that, not only was that hurtful and insulting, because that man was my abuser, but also false as we were never an item, and I couldn't imagine anything worse). They told me to agree that I was going back to work in care (I wasn't - I was not stable enough to provide support for a vulnerable person, and so I had been on SSP since April 7th 2025, when I tried to take my own life. A subsequent attempt followed in May 2025, but police pulled me down from the bridge and I was taken to the hospital). It was so bad around that time, that I couldn't even speak with my sisters on video call in Australia without him speaking over me and talking for me.

TIG lead me through a process, that I was not in any right state of mind to concent to.

Now... TIG have been very helpful and very kind in their offer to release me from my IVA and waive my fees, but they have told me the IVA will still remain on my record for 6 years, and all the backdated interest from August 2025 will be applied by my lenders.

I met the man of my dreams Sept 2025. I kinda didn't realise what the IVA truly meant. I didn't fully listen. I just wanted everything to stop. I just wanted some time to get happy. Meeting my boyfriend wasn't what I expected. Anyway, we plan to stay together. He is my everything. However, my visa expires in April 2027, and with the current political climate in regards to immigrants, my Ancestry visa will likely need renewing for another 5 years, at a cost of about £7k... which I cannot afford. I can pay all my debts back and pay for ILR (if my love and I were to get married between now and April 2027, then I may still qualify for 5 years). Ultimately, I am just looking at the debts I need to pay and paying them off ASAP. We want to save for a house. We want to do everything all other couples do. Why can't I be let off without their admin fees, and with my credit score able to be built up again? I feel like I am being penalised.. obviously I have just started a second antidepressant to test it's efficacy, so I am a little "elevated" and I feel paranoid.. I just want to get this put behind me. I want to forgot those memories, and my kindness, which was taken advantage of.... my.mother always said I was a delicate petal, I just never thought I could be so stupid as to do this to my life. My immigration journey should have been my priority... not his useless life he dug out for himself 💔

I traded my future for nothing. He has become the victim in his mind, and the mind of many friends we shared, but that was just because I stayed quiet and hid away, so I guess my guilt was easily sold based on that... my name is mud in his circles now... they knew me, I thought they would have stood by me, and saw the situation for what it was.. but now the only people in my life are those who were there... who found me and witnessed our dynamic and his behaviour firsthand... to everyone else, I am evil and I turned on him... I am just so tired.

HotConstruction93

Anyway, I had no assets worth note. Thinking back on it now, I am surprised I was signed on for the IVA. At 32yo, and no assets, and only small debt... why did they accept? I had already claimed breathing space for mental health, so I couldn'tdo it again apparently. I was obviously unwell when I phoned them, and hearing about my situation meant that the gentleman helping me told me to lie so I could get a break. TIG did try to help me, but by helping me, they have really hurt my future. I am on my way to being stable again, and I just wish that I could take it all back...

I don't want to trouble to court over this, because that man genuinely wanted to help me, I know he did, and he did the wrong thing, yes, but I thought maybe they could erase it.. just take it away. I am mourning for my future now I guess. I'm considering going back to Australia and just abandoning my debts, but that would mean leaving my boyfriend behind, which I cannot do. He has a child, and I can't go back. I can't accept that I have just wasted 4 years of my life here when I wasn't even welcome or wanted here

fatbelly

Could you put your question into one sentence? I am not sure what you are asking. I have subscribed to will see your response

ManyWays

I don't want to trouble to court over this, because that man genuinely wanted to help me

You mean the one at TIG that signed up up for an IVA? He should not have told you to lie, not put forward an unsuitable IVA. He was an IVA salesman thinking of his commission probably.

Now... TIG have been very helpful and very kind in their offer to release me from my IVA and waive my fees, but they have told me the IVA will still remain on my record for 6 years, and all the backdated interest from August 2025 will be applied by my lenders.

That suggests that TIG are aware something went very wrong with their sales process. Being realistic, that may be the best you can hope for. There is no method of getting an IVA removed from your credit record.

6.8k is a very low amount of debts for an IVA.

I met the man of my dreams Sept 2025

There is no easy or friendly way to say this. But to an outsider this sounds like another big mood swing. If you were my daughter or my sister, i would like you to come back home to Australia and start again with family around you and medication that may help you.

elsien

If you don’t have the money to renew your Visa, then I don’t see you have any choice but to go back home?

sourcrates

Only time can expunge an IVA from your credit file unfortunately, it will show for 6 years in total.

IVA`s are mis-sold on an industrial scale, you are not the only one it has happened too, but the resolution you appear to have got seems appropriate given the circumstances.

Do you have any other specific questions?

HotConstruction93

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891890#Comment_81891890

Hiya,

I was worried about that.

I raised a complaint to the IS and then cancelled it. I have raised a complaint with the FO, as according to Google that can occasionally yield results.

Regarding my partner, yes, it definitely started while I was hypomanic, but I want to see where this goes.

Do you think there is any point going through the FO? Part of me wants to just apologise and just keep paying. Maybe they can write me a supporting letter as part of my residency/visa application?

I could easily afford either visa renewal or residency if I just kept the IVA.. but for me, it is that worry that I will be rejected that gives me the greatest worry... we can just focus on his credit and explain to mortgage lenders in the future, maybe someone would offer pity? Dunno.

Yea, my relationship definitely started while I was experiencing something skewiff.. but we are happy and settled now. I don't want to question that. Our relationship brings me a lot of happiness and stability.

fatbelly

Rather than take advice from random googling, this gives a good overview about IVA complaints

https://debtcamel.co.uk/complaint-iva/

And the limited powers FOS has in dealing with them