Annoyed at the increasing number of firms who seem to be applying pressure on people in IVA to do equity release through secure loan or face a breach (when they are not required to) I wrote to the insolvency service to ask if they were aware of the practice. I pointed them to various discussions on here and said allegedly offending firms, I also offered some practical solutions/suggestions.
For Example
Auditing firms to see if they are forcing it upon clients when they shouldn't be to their financial detriment.
Communicating with those on the register to let them know what can and can not be asked of them.
Suggesting they can be the ones to prevent the next PPI claims mis-selling scandal (Forced secure lending miss-selling) through early intervention & change.
Here is their response received today.
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Dear Mr Smith,
Thank you for your letter of 20 August about the equity release provisions contained within the IVA Protocol and how they are used in practice.
I would like to start by congratulating you on completing your IVA. I am very aware that a person who is struggling financially has some difficult decisions to make; it is always a pleasure to hear from someone who has successfully resolved their problems.
Thank you for raising your concerns about the IVA market and how it is working, especially in relation to the way in which people are expected to release their home's equity into their IVA. Insolvency Practitioners are a trained and regulated group of professionals and so should be operating in a fair and balanced way. In particular, if they are advising a client that an IVA is appropriate for them, that client should know the full implications and consequences of entering that IVA. Likewise, that client should not feel pressured into accepting a change to their IVA (or the terms and conditions that apply to it) if that change does not work for them.
My colleagues who deal with the regulation of insolvency practitioners are aware of concerns around debt advice generally and are working with regulators to assess the
position. I have brought this letter to their attention, as your comments will be very useful for this review.
I will also ask colleagues to raise this issue at the next meeting of the Standing Committee to see whether others have the same concerns. In case you were not aware the IVA Standing Committee meets three times a year to discuss the IVA market, in particular in relation to the Protocol. There are representatives from across the debt advice sector (representing consumers), creditor organisations and insolvency practitioners.
I would like to thank you again for raising your concerns with us; direct feedback like yours helps us to ensure that problems are identified and addressed at an early stage.
Yours sincerely
Lisa Smyth
Correspondence and Complaints Manager
So, if you have found yourself in this situation and they are trying to apply said pressure to you or imply you are bound by new protocols when you are not then I suggest a letter/email to her at
correspondence@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk in addition to the standard Gateway Insolvency Practitioner complaint procedure.
Give then Insolvency service the meat they need to demonstrate the scale of the problem or the potential for this to grow, which could be nipped in the bud.
Cheers
Longslog.....on a mission....[8D]