I am hoping to enter into an IVA

[Skippy]

I know that HSBC and First Direct close the accounts of people in IVAs as there have been posts about this on the forum. I went BR last Thursday and I have applied for a Co-operative Bank Cashminder account which has been approved. I am waiting for the paperwork to come through at the moment. Although I have only spoken to them on the phone a couple of times I found it easy to get through and the ladies I spoke to were really helpful - the lady I spoke to today was really worried in case the account wasn't set up in time for my salary to be paid in. I'll let you know how I get on with them when the account is up and running.

Onwards and upwards!!!

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[gimmewine]

First Direct suspended my account at the first sign of trouble, but ...... they did give me some time to find another account and out of all my creditors they were the only ones to suspend interest on the credit card until I had sorted out my remortgage. I would go back to them if I could, they were the most reasonable of the lot

[ordinary_world]

Hi Skippy, I've been following your blog with interest and glad your BR went smoothly and things are okay for you now. Did HSBC/FD close your accounts because they were one of your creditors or because you were on/applying for an IVA? If it was because you were involved in an IVA, how did they find out?

The Co-op do sound good, what do you get with the Cashminder acc (debit card, internet banking etc).

Hi Gimmewine, from your response I gather FD were one of your creditors so I can see how FD knew and why they froze the account. What level of functionality did your account have whilst you were looking for an alternative? Also, who were your most unreasonable creditors?

I guess I'm just trying to determine whether banks talk or share information between one another or whether they just independently check credit reference agencies and public registers.

Apologies for all the questions, its the way I'm wired! [:)]

Best


OW

- 'I wont cry for yesterday 'cause there's an ordinary world somehow I have to find...'

[gimmewine]

FD were my main creditor as I held mortgage, bank and visa accounts with them. They suspended the account just after my salary had gone in but as they were aware of the problem, they honoured all my direct debits and also allowed me to draw £100 a week for a month so I could buy food and petrol. On top of that I had an overdraft of £600 and they allowed me to pay it back over 12 months by continuing to let my tax credit go to that account. They also froze the interest on my credit card during the 6 months it took to get the mortgage sorted.

My other creditors were GMAC (car finance) Egg (credit card), HFC (small fry, purchase of dishwasher), Cahoot and a variety of store cards which all turned out to be owned by GE money. I found the store cards the worst, they would not stop ringing nor did they stop adding late payment charges and interest. Egg were ok, they just wanted a monthly token payment and updates, but again, they continued to add late payment charges and interest. Cahoot were the most intrusive as they would make daily phonecalls to my place of work and leaving messages like I should ring about my account as a matter of urgency. If only I had known about this site then I would have told them where to go. Again they added late payment charges on top of interest

Guess what though. Being the compulsive hoarder that I am I kept all my statements and am now claiming back all those charges plus statutory interest, it feels great. Tally nr 3k now, reckon by the time I've finished it will be nearer 5, it feels great

[Adam Davies]

Hi
Well you have to say that First direct were very thoughtful on this occassion,a pat on the back to them.If all creditors acted in this responsible manner then coping with debt would be less stressful.
Are FD always lik this ???
regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson and site manager
(aka Neverending)

Please check out my blog: http://andydavie.blogs.iva.co.uk

View my profile here:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

[ordinary_world]

Totally agree Andy, if all creditors were like FD then life would be a lot less stressful and subsequently people would also feel more empowered to pay back their debt. I hope it would be HSBC's policy...although I'm probably being very idealistic!

The www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk website has been very useful for understanding how the different creditors behave when either being challenged about their bank charges or chasing debtors. Between us,my partner and I have around 19 creditors and its really useful to know which ones will be understanding and which ones will go for the kill.

Cent, it sounds as though you've hit the jackpot with respect to charges! Go for it! [88] I'd pursue them for every dime....most appear to accept their charges have an element illegality and are settling before going to court (the difficult ones appear to be MBNA and Nationwide). If you've had numerous mortgages within the last 6 years, I believe you could also claim back transfer fees too - an area I'd like to look into to.

One thing to consider is do you attempt to claim back charges before you enter an IVA or after? If you claim afterwards then one would expect the creditors to claim most if not all of it as part of the agreement. Mind you, not a bad thing as at least it goes to paying off your debt and the originating bank doesnt get to keep it all.

Mind you, if you claim before the big meeting could it affect how the creditors vote?

Thanks for letting me know about Cahoot - they're one of our creditors so I'll be ready for them now...bring it on![:)]

Best

OW

- 'I wont cry for yesterday 'cause there's an ordinary world somehow I have to find...'