hi there i am hoping somebody can help, basically i had a debt with barclay card that they sold on last year to a collection agency. this was a year ago and by far my biggest debt (£7000) i received a letter last week. a notice of sums in arrears so i contacted them and they straight away advised me to ring stepchange which i did, they advised me to get a iva so i let them refer me to a ip (pareto money). i was in a panic about my financial situation and it was effecting my anxiety but anyway before i even received my proposal i rang up top see how it was progressing. basically this was a couple of hours before work and i am pretty sure i told this guy that i was getting ready for work. and he said he will send the proposal straight away. if i e sign these papers quickly they can progress it quickly and its ok because i get a cool down period anyway. then sent me a text and email asking to sign them asap. so i stupidly and quickly signed the proposal. and 2 days later after speaking with my brother, calming down and realising this is not the option for me. so i withdraw 2 days after signing the proposal. basically one of the things i signed at the time was to waive my right to a cool down and in all honestly i didnt even read it. now they are saying they are going to invoice me £2000 bill. this is on top of the 12000 i already owe im hoping that i havent invented the details of this call my head in the panic and confusion, i have requested they send me recording of all my calls, because i believe i may have been missold the service. they said they will send out a release form to me to sign to get those recordings i believe he said? defiantly not so eager for me to hear my calls back. so is there nothing i can do? do i have no consumer rights or anything? i feel like ive been scammed by these guys in all honestly, i have rang the ip gateway service and they have advised me to approach citizens advice bureau. which i will i do in the morning. i cant believe i have ended up £2000 worse off for nothing. please help
Having looked at their website they don't look like a bad firm but it does state that they don't charge upfront fees. I would phone them back and insist on speaking to a supervisor rather than a call handler.
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 should go back to Stepchange who you say referred you on to Pareto. Tell them what happened and ask them why a so called 'debt charity' needs to refer you to outside IP firms when they have their own IP inhouse. I would advise Stepchange that unless this is resolved immediately you will contact Barclaycard who recommended Stepchange in the first place and explain to them what has happened.
However it sounds as if they did do work and you did agree to pay them for it and waive any rights to a cooling period. It therefore sounds as if they have the right to charge you, albeit it seems harsh in the circumstances.
Ask them for a breakdown of their costs and narrative to see if it at least adds up to £2k on an hourly basis. I doubt very much if all you did was sign the engagement letter and pass over some basic information that they did £2k worth of worth within 2 days.
Ask them for evidence of all the work that they have done and a coy of all the documents they produced/drafted.
thank you for your advice so far. im in a terrible panic and i think its bring back my anxiety attacks. ive asked for evidence and my phones calls again via email as im too scared of talking to them again to be honest. i will contact citizens advice now and see what they recommend, i also will also speak to step change. thank you again
It's best to do everything in writing anyway so you have a record of it. If you don't get a response to your emails print them off and send them with a letter of complaibt by registered post.
Based on their web site they appear to be wanting to charge you the nominees fees that they would normally recoup where possible in the first 5 months http://www.paretomoney.co.uk/iva_fees.php.
2 things:
I am not aware of any insolvency practitioner that could possibly arrange an IVA in the period you mention
lack of a cool down period would suggest that this was sales driven and the insolvency practitioner would not be able to evidence that the IVA was in your best interests
Until you need to speak to someone Sammy or need a variation. Then try and see how helpful Payplan are and if you do not believe me then have a look at their Trust Pilot reviews below,
redboxtree wrote:Based on their web site they appear to be wanting to charge you the nominees fees that they would normally recoup where possible in the first 5 months http://www.paretomoney.co.uk/iva_fees.php.
2 things:
I am not aware of any insolvency practitioner that could possibly arrange an IVA in the period you mention
lack of a cool down period would suggest that this was sales driven and the insolvency practitioner would not be able to evidence that the IVA was in your best interests
At this point you were only just entering the contract stage with the IP.
thank you for your time and effort that you have obviously put into researching this for me. its nice to know some people are kind. first of all i made a mistake while i thought it was step-change i initially dealt with it was in fact national debt helpline. i apologise for that, that is my own mistake. So i feel that i could take your points and put this into a letter of complaint? i have emailed the "drafter" stating i am preparing a complaint, asking for evidence of his work in the 2 day period between me signing and canceling. also for recordings of all my calls as i feel it was at least some what sales driven. should i make a official complaint to them via their complaints email address, or should i now wait for them to respond or send a email? or for the invoice to come through? and again i really appreciate your help on this and also to everybody else that has responded. i feel trapped and this community is offering me a little hope, thank you all.
im sorry but ive decided insolvency is not route i want to go down, especially after this experience. as a last resort only
I agree with Lisa's point that they are unlikley to have "earned" a fee of £2000 over 2 days --- also, at thet speed, I would argue that they have not given any consideration to your best interests, or, indeed, whether an IVA is the best solution. A formal complaint can be escalated to their regulators if need be as it is doubtful they are giving best advice.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
hello everyone, thank you all for the advice, its very reassuring. and genuinely makes me feel alot better. ok well i have informed them i will be making a complaint and have asked for my call recordings multiple times and they have told me they will send out a release. but i have not received anything yet. so i am hoping they will are just going to let the whole thing drop. i guess for now i will just have to wait and see what happens. thank you all for your help and advice.
