Hi - new to the forums so I'll get straight to the point...
In December 2005 I took out an IVA with Blair Endersby. I have made all of my payments and I have fulfilled all of my obligations.
At some point, my IVA was dealt with by Grant Thornton, rather than Blair Endersby around the time of my last payment (February 2011). I made this payment in good faith and expected that I'd get my completion certificate through in 6 months or so.
This hadn't happened by September 2011 so I called GT who told me that there was a delay due to me owing £0.02 - so I made a card payment of 2 pence (!!!) and expected the certificate as soon as possible.
Fast forward to February 2012 - a year after my last payment (other than the 2p). I have been trying to chase a completion date from GT and they're passing me from pillar to post and won't give me a date for completion.
I cannot believe that it's taken 1 year to get nowhere. I am itching to buy a house and get on the property ladder, but this has set me back for a year.
What advice can I have in order to get this sorted?
Unfortunately, due to this delay caused by 2 pence ( which shouldn't have happened!) you have now got caught up in the VAT fiasco, which has prevented most cases from being formally closed until further advice has been forthcoming and HMRC start co-operating and refunding incorrectly charged VAT.
GT have only jusr started closing cases again and I would suggest you contact Karol, whose details can be found in her member profile as Grant Thornton, and ask that you case be given some priority due to the delays they are partly responsible for, which have led you to be caught up in this.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Carl I sympathise with you - that really does beggar belief.
The good news is that GT are indeed closing cases again. I'm ex-Blair Endersby as well and have been assured I will receive my completion certificate no later than 31 March.
As the others have posted, Karol is the best person to contact in the first instance and hopefully she will sort it out quickly.
Last edited by vince666 on Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
To contact Karol direct please email ivacustomerservices@uk.gt.com and ensure that "IVA Forum" is all that is entered in the subject line of the email.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Drop her a line and I am sure she will be able to assist.
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By the way Carl, when you get this sorted and are looking for a mortgage, speak to Ryan from Zebra Finance (you'll find his details in the experts section).
He has lots of experience in helping people get mortgages post IVA and has helped a number of people on this forum.
That must be a computer error rather than a human one I would hope! Nevertheless you do need to get that case closed and hopefully Karol will be able to look at your specific case and assist with this.
vince666 - I note that you made final payment in September 2011 (the same as me, if we're saying that my £0.02 was my final payment) and you're expecting your completion certificate by the end of the month.
How did this come about - did you have to press any buttons, so to speak, in order to get yours actioned sooner?
I have had to bully the customer services staff and tell them that I won't be putting the phone down until I speak to a manager as I've had too many failed callback attempts.
I've also been told multiple different stories regarding the delay.
1 - It was BE's fault for not starting the completion process
2 - It was GT's fault for not starting the completion process once they took control of my IVA
3 - It was my fault for not paying the £0.02
4 - It was GT's fault for not processing completion in September
5 - It was the tribunal's fault for delaying completion
None of this explains why 1 - it wasn't picked up in the first place, 2 - it wasn't processed for completion in September, 3 - why I'm just on the list and will be seen to when it's my turn.
As I've said - all I want is for my completion certificate to come through and for me to be able to get a mortgage.
Hi Carl - I really hope you get it soon. Regardless of who what why when it is ludicrous it has taken this long and all for 2p. It just shows how sometimes automated processes and computers can create situations that is only a human had intervened it would not have happened.
Fingers crossed for you and good luck with the househunting when you get to that point!
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It doesn't just sound like a computer glitch, it's yet another case of a BE-GT handover not going smoothly.
From personal experience and from what I have read on this forum, very little administration was carried out by BE in the final months before they sold to GT and very little was done by GT in the first few months after the transfer. Carl is unfortunate in that his IVA concluded in this period.
That said, once GT picked up the case, surely they should have just written off the 2p???
Having taken over a couple of IP portfolios in my time - and I mean about 200 rather than the thousands of cases GT did take over, anyone can be expected to take a little time to get things bedded in.
Case handovers can be extremely time consuming and difficult, and no matter how thorough your due diligence is when you are reviewing the portfolio you will always find problems - I know from my own experiences, and unfortunately it is usually the people who are the subjects of those cases - and who have no say in the transfer arrangements - who generally suffer.
If it is known that there will be difficulties on handovers then the acquiring firm should ensure they allocate sufficient resource to be able to deal with the additional workload.
I'm sure the duty of IPs to close cases expeditiously under the requirements of SIP 3 still apply regardless of whether the case has been recently acquired - the debtor should not suffer because of a sale of business by their original IP.
Also I would expect that on an acquisition it would be straightforward to identify cases that had recently concluded or were about to conclude, so they could be prioritised once the acquisition was complete.
Last edited by vince666 on Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Carl, I have been in regular contact with GT over the last few months to try and get closure sorted - like you I am trying to get a mortgage sorted and this is the only thing stopping me.
Make sure you get in touch with Karol Wilson in the first instance (see Foggy's post above for details). As your circumstances are so extreme, I would also send an email direct to your IP - this was Mark Allen in my case. You can get his email address from the GT website.
I would also check your original proposal to see what basis BE were charging VAT on their fees. In my case they charged VAT on top of their fees, so the delay regarding the Paymex case was possibly valid as this VAT needs to be returned to the creditors, although I hold out that the amount was so small that it was not in the interest of the creditors to delay closure (so small in fact that I did offer to loan this money to GT to close the case but their legal team didn't like the idea). In many cases BE charged VAT inclusive fees - in these circumstances BE will keep the VAT refund and there should have been no reason to delay closure of these cases as IPs have a duty to consider each case individually.
Last edited by vince666 on Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
