I think one or two posters have used them, not sure what the feedback is like though. I could be wrong, but I think you may have to pay upfront fees before an IVA starts.
Why don't you ring one or two more companies? Visit www.iva.com and you will see a list of companies and reviews where you will receive free and impartial advice as to all the options open to you.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Arent churchwood just an introducer,ie they do lots of paperwork then hand you to an insolvency firm. Doing it this way means you have no say whatsoever in selecting the firm that you will be working with for 5 years. Have a look on iva.com and select an insolvency firm or 3 to go directly to yourself so you get a feel for them,and also to see how they work out what disposable income you will have(they will all come back with differing figures).
Melanie Giles who posts on here gets good reviews,and I myself use Tenon and have had no problems so far.
Paul
Discharged today the 8th feb 2012. View is much brighter now.
Continuing to rebuild our credit worthiness.
Churchwood are an introducer and prepare a packaged IVA for the IP. It is true that you could contact IP firms directly but many people only find out about IPs by answering advertisements from introducer companies. If the cas is suitable for an IVA it is up to Gary whether he thinks Churchwood have earned a fee for the work they have done.
i just been on the internet and phone all morning trying to sort something out with a iva or dept management programe,phoned a few companys and everyone comes up with a different plan,but just like to say im glad i didn`t go ahead with churchwood,i just wanted to put it on hold for a week to get a bit of advice,the agent who was dealing with it got very abrupt and wouldn`t let us have a week and just hung up on me..
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
You're right to get advice from more than one company....if the company doesn't like this well.........tough! Entering into any debt plan is a huge step and you need to consider all options.
Have you contacted any of the experts who post on here?
You suggested Melanie to my husband Andy after he was beginning to give up hope - a big thanks from me - I know my husband has thanked you in the past. J
Churchwood are a Debt Management Company that introduce IVA's to their in house Insolvency firm, Kingsgate. As far as I am aware, they do not introduce to anyone else.
Churchwood and Kingsgate, again as far as I am aware, are owned by the same person/people and are resident in the same building. Nothing wrong with that in itself, I myself have two corporate identities, as most of you know, in Abacus and Cleardebt.
Where I am concerned, however, is the alleged practice of taking large fees for an obvious IVA case for the simple task of taking a completed pack across an office to then take a further 60, possibly 72, payments on an IVA for very little work at all. For my mind it cannot be justified in any way shape or form and some may view it as profiting from others misery, especially if a "dream" is sold to vulnerable people who are the least able to afford large upfront fees which bear no relation to true disposable income.
You may deduce from this that I am not a fan of packagers.
Regards.
Cert DR
23+ years in debt advice
I do not post for anyone other than myself
