We had our IVA approved in August 2007. Prior to this we had made six payments which we were told would cover the 1st six months. After the 6 months we have heard nothing form the IVA company despite us sending letters and making phone calls. We haven't paid anything as we don't know how much and who to. The company are called Synergi. We have now complained to the financial ombudsman and they wrote on out behalf, again no reponse from Synergie. When I phoned the number on the government insolvency site they said there was no record of our IVA. We have now got debtors phoning us up and a bankruptcy order being made against us. My husband has an interview with the Official Receivers about the bankruptcy in a couple of weeks time. We just don't know what to do next. We are willing to pay our debts but because of this companies incompetence we don't know what to do. Will the official receiver understand? The fact that we have complained to the ombudsmad will surely go in our favour? We really don't want to end up losing our house over this as we have always kept up with our mortgage. Any advice gratefully received.
You can have the bankruptcy hearing suspended if you use an Insolvency Practitioner. This will enable a proposal to be put to creditors but there is no guarantee that it would be accepted. The other issues although important are not the concern of the creditor who is making you bankrupt but a judge may be sympathetic and allow an adjournment for you to get advice.
Do you have any paperwork from when you first sought help?
Michael Peoples wrote:
You can have the bankruptcy hearing suspended if you use an Insolvency Practitioner. This will enable a proposal to be put to creditors but there is no guarantee that it would be accepted. The other issues although important are not the concern of the creditor who is making you bankrupt but a judge may be sympathetic and allow an adjournment for you to get advice.
Do you have any paperwork from when you first sought help?
Yes we have all the paperwork. It isn't a bankruptcy hearing it's an interview with the official receiver. Where do we get a reliable Insolvency Practitioner from and do we have to pay them? We really are skint.
Hi
An insolvency practitioner will probably take your case on with no upfront fee, check out IPs on www.iva.com.
You need to act quickly
Regards
I've clicked on a few but only on the 'a' letters is there any way to search for IPs in our area-Liverpool? When you say no upfront fee does that mean we have to pay a fee when it's all arranged? As far as we're concerned we're supposed to HAVE an IVA with Synergi partners. What would the IP do? Would they contact Synergi for us? Sorry to sound so ignorant it's just all very confusing and we don't know what to do for the best.
Unless you are self employed you don't need a face to face meeting with an IP so it's possible to use one from anywhere in the country.
You wouldn't be expected to pay any fees upfront, these would be taken from your IVA payments if it was accepted.
The experts who post on here are all highly recommended - Melanie Giles, Cleardebt (David Mond/Size5) and McCambridge Duffy (Michael Peoples). You can find their contact details in the experts section at the side of the page, and I would recommend giving any of them a ring.
It does not sound as if you have an IVA in place, and if you do decide to propse one the IP you choose to represent you will look into the nature of the arrangement you have had with Synergi.
You do not necessarily need to use an IP in your geographical area, as the majority of the work needed can be easily done over the phone, by post and via e-mail. However if you do decide to use someone more local, www.iva.com lists all of the IP firms in your geographical area. Do make sure that you ask them if they specialise in personal insolvency, and IVAs in particular.
