This is my first post after reading the forums for the past few months while i started my IVA process with Freeman Jones and i can highly recommend them. They were brilliant always there to answer any questions i had and giving me regular updates. They also wanted a month's payment upfront and again i was advised this would look good to the creditors and if my IVA was rejected i could get my money back or use it for the DMP.
My IVA was accepted and Freeman Jones were excellent so from my experience you won't go wrong with Freeman Jones.
That is great feedback regarding your IP firm nlarkin. Have you also made a post on www.iva.com, so that others who may be looking for an IP firm to represent them can learn from your own experience?
Thanks for the excellent advice, especially thank you nlarkin for your own story with F J, signed documents are now in the safe(!) hands of the post office and winging their way to their offices.
BTW nlarkin I agree with Melanie that you should share your experience with F J to a wider audience...it is such a difficult choice to choose an IP, so every piece of feedback regarding the plethora of 'debt management' companies out their would help many people choose the bona-fide ones, rather than get fleeced by the blood sucking cowboys. I will of course do likewise as and when things progress with my own case.
Once again thanks to all who posted, I am very happy I found this forum...now I don't feel so alone
We paid 2 months up front before our creditors meeting - we paid £1710 before anything was approved - this was paid a couple of months before the meeting with the creditors. We have a five year IVA but having read a few posts does this mean that we would have infact paid 62 months? We only have 2 payments left to pay.
I think this might well be the case Jen, but you need to speak to your IP to clarify things.
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
Were the two payments paid to the IP firm, or to a debt advisory firm which then passed your case over to an IP once they had gathered up all of your documents?
Hi Mel,
They were paid to the firm handling our IVA. (DFD). We approached them in February 2005. We paid £780 pounds in March and April, Creditors meeting wasn't until May. We then had to start out years worth of payments on 1st June. We also paid £150 in May. The £780 was in the proposal as the first years payments. Surely this means that we have paid 62 months. Our IVA is for a 5 year term.
The payments you made seem to have been declared as cash in hand and you will probably still have 60 months to pay from the date of the meeting. Some IP firms advise you to use your surplus to make token payments, clear priority arrears or build a small contingency fund while your IVA is being prepared but others gather the money for the benefit of creditors.
Declan may be able to confirm DFD's policy on this but since all the money has gone into the IVA pot and you could afford the payments, it seems reasonable what they have done.
Hi Guys
We use to advise on the upfront payments back in 2005 but have since stopped. If you made 2 upfront payments, then the term of the IVA would be 58 months.
Jen - I am going to arrange for one of my customer care colleagues to give you a quick call and discuss your case.
Thanks for replying Declan - If this is the case it would appear that we have paid 60 months already? As like many people in this situation -we were naive and did as told. Why was this not explained at the beginning that the payments made up front would be part of the 5 years?
My hubbys just reminded me to that not only had we paid the upfront payments we also continued to pay small token payments to creditors as this was advised until the meeting.
Hi Jen
I am looking into your case as we speak and if it hasn’t happened already then it will shortly in that you will receive a call from one of my colleagues regarding your individual case.
