Getting closer to F&F settlement

[seagull]

I am a single mother & my IVA has been running 39 months at £444 per month (fully paid so far). I have two jobs, one of which is under serious threat. Being worried about not being able to keep up my payments I read your forum posts on Full & Final payment with interest as my sister has offered to help me. I wrote to my IP asking her to set up a meeting of the creditors with regards to a full & final settlement and her response was to ask who advised me this was possible, and ignored my original request. I felt this was a negative response on her part and am now worried that full & final settlements are not always possible. Any advice on how to go from here before I reply to my IP. Thanks in advance.

[kallis3]

If you wish to offer a full and final, then your IP should be putting this forward to your creditors, or should give you an explanation as to why not.

Is it the IP you have spoken to, or one of the office staff? You can reach your IP via this link:

http://www.insolvency-service.co.uk/newipsearch.htm

Email them direct.

As a matter of interest, what are you offering as a full and final and who is your IP?

[seagull]

Thanks for the speedy response. It is my IP that personally replied to me, she has not even mentioned my request to call a meeting for F&F, and just wants to know who has given me this advice. As regards my offer in my original letter, I said to her that I knew it would probably take a couple of months to convene a meeting. By then there would be 19 months left (£8436). After reading this section of the forum I asked her to offer £2500 as this would mean the creditors would be getting the minimum original agreement of 26p in the pound, plus her fees would have been covered too. I also made her aware of my tenuous employment situation prompting my request for F&F. I have no assetts and rent my home.

[kallis3]

As far as a I am aware, anyone is able to offer a full and final, particularly if your employment situation is iffy.

I am not sure about the amount you are offering, but I believe that if you wish to put this forward, then your IP should do this for you, or at least advise you as to how much would be acceptable.

I would contact her again and ask that she put this offer forward. I would also mention that you may be losing one of your jobs and if you cannot make your payments then you will have to look at bakruptcy.

[MRBLUESKY]

hi nicola welcome to the forum,sounds like your ip is not being very helpful regarding your full and final offer enquiry.i agree with everything kallis has said,if you think the lower offer would give the original divi plus expenses i assume your payments have gone up is this right.in anycase i think a offer nearer your total remaining payments would have a better chance of been accepted.

[seagull]

Thanks for the welcome. I suppose I fully expected my IP to reply with feedback on my offer & a positive response with setting up a meeting whereas it was a very short email making two points. 1. She was sorry to hear I was worried that I may be unable to "comply" with my iva in the future, & 2. Could I tell her who had advised me that full & final settlement was possible. This was after a lengthy email I wrote to her explaining my situation and asking her to arrange a meeting for F&F. I feel very despondent as her reply seems to imply that this is not possible because she ignored the whole point of my email. I am not sure how to respond to her now as I feel she has rejected my proposal without even discussing it with me.

[kallis3]

Can you tell us which company you are with?

[seagull]

Sue Casey at JC Casey in Chichester

[kallis3]

I have to say that I don't know that firm.

However, you need to speak to her again and tell her that you want a full and final putting forward. If she questions who has said you can do this, then point her in our direction.

[MRBLUESKY]

nicola regarding your payments have they gone up in the past due to your income & expenditure reviews.are you a homeowner or tenant.do you have a equity release clause in your agreement.normally this would be in the 4th year if you have one.

[seagull]

My payments have remained the same, possibly because the monthly figure was calculated quite high on my initial figures as I didn't have any help and was desperate to be accepted so underestimated my expenditure and overestimated my income,by mistake, but I stuck with it although it's been a real struggle, and each year the IP has said she sees no "evidence to suggest that the level of payment should be increased."
Of course I have done my figures much more accurately now.
I am a tenant and so there is no equity release clause.

[MelanieGiles]

Your IP is obliged to consider your offer carefully in light of the circumstances you have presented to her, but she is probably best placed to advise whether it is likely to be acceptable to creditors or not.

If your sister is prepared to fund the IPs costs of putting forward a variation meeting, then the IP really ought to take your request seriously and present a revised offer to creditors. Although £2,500 may not seem reasonable in comparison to the future IVA payments you are yet to make, if these are dependent upon an unstable second income, your offer is likely to be taken seriously by both your IP and your creditors.

[seagull]

Thanks Melanie. I was rather despondent that she made it sound like variation/F&F settlement, (is that one and the same thing? and is it better to refer to it as a variation?),was not something that was possible, infact all she wanted to know was who had advised me that I could make a "full and final settlement" she put it in quotation marks as though I had made the term up myself!
I didn't take advice from anyone, just discovered this forum at the same time that the struggle started to get worse and when I discussed with my sister she said she could help.
My sister may be able to offer me more than £2500 and so really I need to know what is a reasonable offer which is likely to be accepted.
Obviously I need to discuss this with my IP and hopefully she will be a bit more helpful but I'd appreciate any help.
My original debt was £58,361 with contributions of £444 per month. the return was 26p in the pound.
I have told my IP I would continue paying while a meeting was being arranged so will definitely have made 40 payments,(+ whatever the offer I make), with 20 left to go.
Also, another question,before my IVA was agreed, I paid 3 payments, at monthly intervals, of £400. My IP said I should do this as a "show of willingness" and that the IVA would be more likely to be agreed if I did this. Do those payments count towards the IVA and if not, what happens to them?
Sorry for the lengthy reply, so many questions and thoughts.It's a relief to be in touch with other IVAers and professionals on this forum it's invaluable for info and just feeling that you aren't the only one!
Thankyou.
Nicola.

[MelanieGiles]

I am suprised that your IP does not appear to understand the terminoligy of full and final settlements, which are every persons prerogative to offer to their creditors. And whilst we cannot advise you about case specific facts on the forum, we can and do give very good general advice.

[seagull]

That's exactly what I thought and why it surprised me that she answered so negatively.
Anyway, I'll get back to her now to put my case forward.It's really useful to know that I do have a right to ask her to do this for me as I was beginning to feel I might be in the wrong.
Thanks. Nicola.