IS IT NORMAL TO TAKE THIS LONG?

[onlypassion]

Hi everyone,

As many of you already know, I am currently in the process of applying for an IVA. The problem is is is just taking so long. We originally made contact with thomas charles at the very end of January. We returned all documents etc within a couple of weeks, in between all this the IP Thomas Charles originally appointed us was changed and our IP will be one working for Accuma who now have our file and we were told we would be contacted by them.

We still however, dont seem to be really getting anywhere, not heard from Accuma and have not even signed a proposal yet. The pressure is really mounting. We have 15 creditors so the phone just never stops from 8am til about 8pm, we getter literally dozens of letters a week and have had a letter today from Natwest stating they are sending a recovery agency to our door at the cost of £125 to collect our debit cards and cheque books even though these have all been cancelled!

We have stopped answering all phone calls as with this amount of creditors and the very agressive telephone manner they all seem to have it was just becoming unbearable, they know our position yet still insist on you paying them money we dont have. Egg made me laugh when they asked if I was able to make a debit card payment assuring me it would see no further action taken..... the amount they wanted was £15300 by the way!!!!)

There is just no end in site, I am really at breaking point and have been ill recently with the stress of this all. I know it is ourselves that got into this mess but just want to get it sorted and dont seem to be getting anywhere. If BR was an option the way I feel right now I think I would give in and take this route but I would lose my job (states this in my contract) and with a 4 year old aon and 9 month daughter I dont want to lose my home which is what would happen if I lost my job.

Anyone got any ideas if this seems an exceptionally long application process and generally, after signing proposals how long is it until a creditors meeting date is set?

thank you all very much for reading my whinging and thank you for any advice you have.

Andrea

[thebear29uk]

Hi Andrea

I also went through Thomas Charles but didn't seem to have any issues with delays unless it was me holding things up collating all the info. I'm not certain and I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong but I think TC are now part of Accuma. If this is the case then it probably makes sense to arrange to use their IPs rather than farm the job out to somebody else. However this site has previously reported Accuma being a bit slow due to backlogs - again please correct me if I'm wrong - and this can lead to extra stress levels particularly when you have so many creditors who all want to set the record for the number of times they can ask you the same question in a day/week/month.

From TC website:

WHAT WILL AN IVA COST?
At Thomas Charles we pride ourselves on our quality of work.

Our fees:
We charge 2 extra payments (so your IVA is 62 months rather than 60 months). These payments are based on your affordable income and you would need to talk to an advisor to find out more. Click here for a list of advisors.
PLEASE NOTE: These two payments are refunded if the IVA is not accepted.

What do Thomas Charles spend the 2 extra payments on?
-If you proceed with Thomas Charles you will get 2 dedicated personell to work on your case until the IVA is accepted (a senior advisor and an assistant advisor).
-You will be given an emergency contact number for your senior advisor should you have a problem out of hours (e.g. creditors hassling you).
-The complex 14 page Statement of Affairs IVA proposal will be filled out on your behalf by your senior expert advisor (after detailed consultation with you), this will maximise the chance of your IVA being accepted.

99% success rate and Thomas Charles Promise
-If we decide to take on your IVA case and we fail to get the IVA accepted then we will pay you a compensation fee of £250*.
-If you would like to have an informal chat with an advisor to find out more please view our senior advisors here.
* In very rare cases this promise may be withdrawn (at the very beginning of our discussions with you) if you have creditors who are aggressively declining IVAs (e.g. the Northern Rock Together Loan).
FREE Telephone Advice

Personally I would call TC and ask them to move things forward for you with Accuma or see if another IP on their books with less workload can take on your case. They do make their promise so your IVA should still be in with a good chance.

In the meantime just so you know you are not alone my IVA has so far taken just over 4 months from my initial contact with TC on 30th Nov. I would point out that the delays are all mine as my case is not so straightforward. I rent out my property and pay rent where I live. The rental income was less than my mortgage and most IPs wouldnt touch my case because they felt creditors would insist on me selling and releasing equity rather than money that could be going to them in an IVA supplementing my mortgage. I'm changing over mortgage provider to lower my payments and arranging valuations and such like take time when you have to arrange with the tenant and the valuer. Melanie is my IP and once she has the mortgage monthly payment figure she can put it into her spreadsheet and work out my offer.

The reason I mention this is to reassure you that whilst the phonecalls and letters are unpleasant it seems most creditors rarely carry out their threats of action. I read somewhere on here that it takes 12 months for legal action to commence. I haven't paid any of my creditors since Oct so I'm now at the 6 month stage which seems to set off a whole new set of alarms in debt recovery offices. MBNA were speaking to me almost daily in the run up to 31/3 stressing that after this date the debt would be sold on. Then on 31/3 they told me it would all have to be resolved by the 30/4. They have a job to do which is to distinguish the can't pays from the wont pays and to record the notes of the conversation. Hopefully I'm nearing the end now and will have a creditors meeting arranged for early May.

Good luck with your situation

Dave

[onlypassion]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply, I know Thomas Charles have a great success rate and dont get me wrong, they have been brilliant, understanding and extremely helpful. It is probably me just being over anxious, mainly because Northern rock account for about a third of our debt so have the deciding vote - and it is a together mortgage and by Thomas Charles' own admissions as stated on their website and included in your post

" In very rare cases this promise may be withdrawn (at the very beginning of our discussions with you) if you have creditors who are aggressively declining IVAs (e.g. the Northern Rock Together Loan)."

But at least I know the wait we have had is relatively normal then that is something. I think I am going to give it til after the weekend (with it being bank holiday and most places probably shut!!) and ring Thomas Charles if I still have not heard antyhing and discuss my options with them to see if we can get things moving .

Dear me am I glad I found this website, I feel for people in the same situation who have not been lucky enough to find this and are going through this more or less blind. This is a place that has provided me with so much support and advice and really is a godsend to everyone that posts here I am sure you will all agree.

Good luck with your own bid for an IVA too dave and thanks again

Andrea

[Welsh Boy]

Andrea

I know it`s easy for me to say but try not to fret, Dave is right in saying that these procedures take time as they are legally binding and have to be administered correctly. It will work itself out just get the right people working with you and you`ll be fine I`m sure. Look througgh postings here and you`ll realise who you need working on your case. All the best -Tony

[MAY2006]

Andrea, if it helps any mine took from end of October first meeting with IP to end of May to get IVA approval.
It was mainly because we were trying to re-mortgage to fund full and final settlement which probably took about 3 months.
During this time I made the odd token payment and like you was deluged by letters which I opened and sent to my IP. My advise on the phone call front is change your number go XD no calls allowed and only give the number to people you want.
Keep posting if only to let off some steam I wish I had know about this site whilst going through the process I used to walk around the kitchen in circles smoking (could'nt really afford them) or calling my best mate the only person outside of me n hubby who knew about it.

[onlypassion]

Tony

I really do know who I need on my case and that is Melanie Giles who was initially named as our IP and this is stated on our paperwork, for no apparent reason it is now Accuma and we were only advised of this when we received a letter from TC saying they had handed evertything over to them so I dont know why it was changed. I think it was due to the fact we would have had to travel to Cardiff to see Melanie and we live in Sunderland, but with so much at stake we were happy to do this.

I really have myself convinced now writing this that I need to ring TC and ask to be switched back to Melanie, the only problem would now be we have sent consent forms to our creditors allowing a lady called Lucy from Accuma to deal with our affairs. I wonder if this could cause problems preventing us reverting back to Melanie as I know when I thought she was going to be acting for us, I was so much more confident on what the outcome would be and I honestly never got stressed at all. How things have changed now though!

[lesley]

My initial phone call was on the 12th January and my IVA was adjourned last week but it was approved today, I hope this helps.

[onlypassion]

Lesley, congratulations, you must feel such a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Really brilliant news.

[lesley]

Yes it feels great, they let me change my payment date to when I get paid so I have been able to pay everything. My IVA will be my only payment now. It's 1/2 my wage but loads better than it was. It's definitely a lesson learned that's for sure.

[thebear29uk]

Hi Andrea

I know what you mean about this site being a lifeline. I do 3 things online every morning when I wake up, when I come in from work and before going to bed. That is check my emails, check my online banking and check this forum. My only regret is that I didn't find it 18 months ago as my debts have grown in that time largely due to servicing minimum monthly payments!!

Tony implies it and you state it: You want Melanie on your case. I completely agree with you that I was much happier knowing she was going to be my IP. In fact when Sarah from her office phoned me to arrange an appointment I asked her to confirm it was the same Melanie that posted on IVA.co.uk.

No disrespect to Accuma but those of us posting here feel like we know Melanie. Its understandable that having been told she was to be your IP you now feel frustrated that things have stalled.

I don't know if this helps but I think Mel does some meetings in London as well as Cardiff and this might be an easier journey from Sunderland. I don't know how the Letters of Authority would affect changing IPs. At this stage you are not tied into the IVA but if you've agreed for Accuma to be your Nominee there may be an issue with Nominee fees.

Speak to TC after the weekend and let us know how you get on.

Dave

[freelili]

Only Passion

You are in my thoughts, its a horrible thing wadding through forrests of letter and neverending phone calls, even my children go ashen when the phone rings. I hope it moves along for you soon

Good luck

LILY

I asked God for a solution and have to live with his reply.

[MelanieGiles]

Since 1 April 2007 insolvency practitioners are no longer obliged to meet their clients in person, and can now legitimately conduct interviews over the telephone. Most of the IVA factories have always done this, despite the insolvency regulations stating a face to face meeting should happen.

Within my own practice, we do still prefer to meet our clients - and if you are self-employed then this is still mandatory - however if a client would prefer to have the meeting conducted over the telephone then we are now permitted to deal with this in such manner.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[onlypassion]

Melanie, that is very interesting! I dont suppose you would know by me having issued these consent forms to creditors, if I would not be obliged to stick with Accuma? I have had no contact with them as of yet I just know Thomas Charles have handed my file over. Would it be be at my disadvantage (would creditors be unhappy to see this) to re select my IP and issue my creditors with a further consent form? I dont want to make things any more difficult in terms of having my IVA accepted but I want to be in with the best possible chance of success.

[MelanieGiles]

Your creditors will largely be unconcerned about who represents you, but you do need to discuss any concern you have directly with Thomas Charles.

My comments about meetings, were made to advise the forum generally of the new changes with regard to introductory meetings between IPs and their clients.

I am sure that your debt advisor will be able to explain to you why they felt Accuma were the right choice of IP to refer you to. So long as you make sure you put forward the very best offer you can afford to make to your creditors, then there should be no reason why your IVA would be rejected.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk