F&F Submitted - Advice Please

[puzzlellie]

Hello All,

I wonder if you can give me some advice please? I submitted a F&F offer to my IVA company 5 months ago along with a cheque for £6500. This made up my offer of £7550 as I also continued to make £350 monthly payments for the months of April, May and June. As an aside for your information, my F&F offer is actually £550 in excess of what my creditors would have received if my IVA had run to full term. My agreement was 60 x £350 monthly payments = £21,000 and with my F&F offer I will have actually have paid £21,550. I am therefore hoping that acceptance will be forthcoming.

Anyhow, the reason for my posting is that I wanted to know if anyone else has had experience of such a delay in making their F&F offer to actually getting it in front of creditors. I knew it wouldn't be quick but after 5 months I still have not had a copy of my variation report or any notification to say it is going to creditors. I understand that creditors have to be given a 28 day notice too so we are up to 6 months if my variation report was going in now.

i am just a little concerned that it is taking such a long time. Any advice on whether this is just standard practice would be much appreciated.

My position with my employer is imminently at risk again as we go through round after round of restructure and so I am understandably keen to try and ensure that my IVA is satisfied before I have bigger problems and it potentially fails.

Thanks everyone
Regards
Px

[lem]

Normally you submit a F&F and have this approved before you make any payment, it's slightly concerning that you have paid in this sum when you have not had a F&F approved and therefore it may have just been put into the IVA pot now, I would be onto your IP urgently to find out what has happened to this money

[puzzlellie]

Hi Lem,

Thanks for the speedy reply. I am in contact with my IVA company and they have been asking for my last payslips and updated I&E in order to complete my variation report so I am confident that there is nothing amiss with the F&F offer. I am just a little frustrated that I wanted to complete it because of my job instability and it is taking this long. I have emailed them again tonight in any case. I was just hoping that someone might say that taking this long is normal - I think it's just me being impatient because this is the biggest priority in my life right now.

Thanks again and good luck with yours.

Regards
Px

[Michael Peoples]

This seems too long to me as we prepare variations in a matter of days and not months. Speak to your IP and find out why the delay and also does full and final mean excluding VAT,PPI, bank charges etc?
In my opinion it does and therefore your file should be closed immediately the variation is accepted.

[lem]

Did they give you a date of when the variation meeting was/is? I would have wanted this before I would have been prepared to pay anything across.

[puzzlellie]

Michael, I have just signed to say that I am not entitled to any PPI so I guess my F&F offer is excluding as you suspect. I did think that 5 months was a little unreasonable but I've never done this before so really didn't know for sure. I have chased again this evening so I am hopeful of getting something back very soon. I have read that sme companies ask for the payment up front and some don't ask for it until the offer is accepted.

I am very hopeful that I will receive an acceptance given my circumstances and more than reasonable offer. I just need the variation report to be finalised and put to them first!

Thanks for the reply.

Regards
Px

[lem]

I'm not an expert on F&F offers Paula, I understand from what I've seen that most IP's like to see evidence of the money being available before they are prepared to put the offer together, but I've not actually heard of them wanting the money up front, I personally would feel very uncomfortable with that, and I certainly wouldn't be happy for them to have the money unless they had a confirmed date for the variation meeting. Good luck with it anyway.

[puzzlellie]

With hindsight I wish I had questioned the process more before paying over the money. However I do find these companies intimidating but this is because getting into a financial state in the first place makes you feel vulnerable and saps your confidence not because they necessarily behave in an intimidating manner. Anyhow, I am sure they will respond to my email tonight and hopefully the variation report will be forthcoming shortly. It can't possibly take much longer! You can't blame a company for holding onto an opportunity to get a bit of interest, they probably expect folk to be on their case every 5 mins so it's probably me being too unsure of the process that's delayed it.

Thanks for your good wishes. I will post with updates for those who would like to know.

Px

[lem]

Yes please do Paula, I know how you can feel so vulnerable when you are in severe debt stress and just want a way out. I'm hoping we may be in a position this time next year to offer a F&F so will be interested to know how you get on xx

[MelanieGiles]

Not all firms are able to do things as quickly as Michaels - in my own firm it usually takes a few weeks rather than days, as we usually have to request information from our clients to support the application as well which may take some time to produce. IP firms have been very busy lately with VAT issues and PPI reclaim issues, which have certainly slowed my firm down but thankfully we are getting through all of them now reasonably speedily. There is no harm expressing your concerns about the delay to your IP, and asking them to confirm a realistic date by which the report may be presented to creditors.

[puzzlellie]

Thank you Melanie. I have emailed this evening for a progress check and hope to hear back soon.

[puzzlellie]

Hi all,

I have heard from my IVA company today and my variation report is with my Supervisor and will be coming out at the end of the week. With a 28 day notice to creditors, I am hoping that I will get a decision by the end of Aug. I hope it will be favourable given that I have paid more than my IVA term would have totalled.

Michel, if as you suggest, my company issue an immediate closure following acceptance, this would be fab.

Although I have now learned quite a lot about this process, I don't ever intend to have to draw thus experience again., I am going to be the epitome of a financially sensible person for the rest of my days. ))).

I will post again when I have a meeting date and decision.

Regards
Px

[puzzlellie]

Hi All

Good news. My reluctant chase to the IVA company worked and I had my variation letter on Friday - hurrah. My meeting is being called on 31st March at 10am. Very nervous but hoping that my offer being in excess of my IVA term payments will be sufficient to get the necssary approvals, I am sue the next 4 weeks will go very slowly.

Will keep you posted.

Regards
Px

[allancsn]

Hi puzzlellie

Do you really mean 31 March - long wait.

It'll be fine an IP would not waste time putting something forward if they didn't think it had a very good chance.

My variation took about 12 weeks from my request to agreement.

There nothing you can do but wait but don't worry I'm sure it'll be fine - creditors want it over as much as you.

[puzzlellie]

Oh sorry, I mean 31 August. ). My head is all over the place, ). Thanks for your reply, I do hope they accept too but I don't want to build my hopes up just in case. After 6 months of waiting (which it will be by 31 Aug), I am just wanting a resolution. It feels like this F&F issue has been dragging on and on. I've got everything crossed. )

Px