Upfront Fees

[Adam Davies]

Hi
No,I said that knowing what I do now I would not pay upfront fees HOWEVER going back to when I took out an IVA[with no upfront fees]I would rather had paid an upfront fee and had a better service.
The right advice is worth paying for,however if you can educate yourself with regard to insolvency then there is no need to pay for this service.
Regards

[OPTIMIST12]

I would agree 100% with Debbies post.

I somehow felt "right" with my company from the start - they gave me a completely down-to-earth picture of my position and I frankly cant fault them from Day 1. Regardless of the final outcome of my IVA I shall always owe both them - and CCCS - a debt of gratitude for opening my eyes and giving me some invaluable advice and guidance.

And I think Andy is right - I am sure that for many people a fee-charging company can provide a great service and advice in guiding them down the right path. It all boils down to who the individual debtor feels happy with. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - and I am sure there are many things we all may have done differently if we knew then what we know now!!! But I think that as long as the debtor and - equally (perhaps more??) importantly - the creditors are happy with what is going on - and the fees charged - the main thing is to get on the right track to a mutually acceptable solution and hopefully a satisfactory conclusion.

[jpj]

As Optomist says...You go with the company you feel most happy with.

And hindsight is a wonderful thing, As nearly all people going through an IVA have never gone through it before. I think most of the time people just choose a company and dont realise wether they were a good company or a bad one until they get out the other side!
That is the beauty of this forum as it can educate people before they go into the IVA process... But I think we can safely say there is no link between upfront fees and a gauranteed better service?

[TheMatrix]

Knowing what I know now I would have gone to a IP like Melanie direct, hindsight is great, but I was personally in dire straights and would have gone to anyone to sort the mess out. If I had known about the upfront fees in advance and that they were not necessary then obviously I would not have paid. But I was not told that for obvious reasons! I would rather have been 2 months further down the line with my IVA, and probably would have stopped all those calls I had while I was waiting those 2 months for the middleman and the IP to get it all sorted.

[glen1971]

Here is my story and experinces regarding up front fee companies. It is an honest account of what happend and i have no bias / bitterness to any companies. I am just telling it as it happend.

I approached TC very early in my process of applying for my Trust deed. Like most have mentioned on this thread it was a very distressing time and i just want to speak to somebody who could understand the financial mess i was in and assist with the most appropriate way out. TC asked for 3 months fee,s which totalled
£2400. I decided to leave it for a couple of days while i thought things through and researched a few details. I then found this web site and saw many reccomendations for Melanie so i decided to speak with her team direct. I could not believe my luck when i was told to keep my £2400 as there were no upfront fees. I then got a call from TC who were enquiring why i was not going ahead with the Trust deed with them. I advised them i was going with Melanies team (Phillip Gill and co ltd) and they still tried for 20 mins to convince me that there was still good reason to use TC despite saying they knew Melanie well and that she was a well respected ip and they had also used them themselves. TC then tried to bargain the fee with me to £1600 (2 payments from the original 3) My response was that i could not understand what TC could assist with as Phillip Gill would be visiting my home to go through all the options / paperwork.

Now that i am a bit more informed on the process of my TD i definetly think that TC should have backed off when i told them i was with Melanie as they would have not had anything to offer. My ip is very approachable and answers all my questions in double quick time.

I think the morals to my story is dont rush into anything. An IVA / Trust deed / Bankrupcy is just as important as any tranactions you are likely to make in your life (such as mortgage,car pension etc..) and you dont take ,the first offer you receive. You should always take advice from several sources and if possible do a little research. Most people's financial circumstances will not be worsened for leaving things for a day or two.

My only grievence about TC is that they play on your fear / ignorance of the situation you are in and will stop at nothing to take your £2400 even if they know you dont need them - as in my case.

I also think that if they sponsor the help- line they should be a disclaimer thet mentions TC are a company which charges a fee for their service and it is entirely possible to deal direct with an ip for free. then we really would have the knowledge to make an imformed choice. I have no doubt there would still be some people who would like their hand holding through the process and still go through TC.

Glen

[cfnc]

Good hear your story Glen,

Glad you researched and made a good decision to have Melanies team for your trust deed.

We were lucky that we went to a local IP, on a recommendation, and were not charged upfront fees, but if we did not have that recommendation I think we would have probably gone to someone TC and paid the upfront fees as we did not know any difference.

On making the decision to go for an IVA after burying our heads in the sand, we were just grateful that someone could help us and trusted them completely.

I did not find this site until after our IVA's were accepted as even though until then I was still scared and burying my head in the sand.

Kirsty

[Cybus]

That was quite an interesting post glen1971.

Thomas Charles ... what level of service would you have provided to these people for £2,400 and how would the level of service differ from that provided to those paying the substantially lower sum of £500???

In my eyes, it smacks of desperation trying to change the mind of someone who has told you that they have decided to dispense with an intermediary and opted to go directly to an IP and to offer a lower fee, suggests that you were in fact over charging in the first place.

Why do you not provide your service for a fixed fee? Do you not think that in charging two or three months worth of contributions, you are taking advantage of people in difficult situations? Those people who have been charged £2,400 for the benfit of your services must feel very hard done by when they see that others in this thread have only had to stump up £500 for the same thing. That is a huge difference don't you think and for what?

I, and I am sure others would welcome your comments on this particular point.

[Skippy]

Can I also ask a question? Why would Glen have had to make 3 months payments, when everyone else would have to make 2 months payments?

[TheMatrix]

They put me down as a 63 month plan, but never got the first payment as I'd just got paid and all that went on paying back paul if you see what I mean.

They asked for 2 cheques made payable to them, and then once the IP letter came, I then set up a standing order for the other 60 months.

So only TC got two cheques for £500 from me, but even so...

[sueann]

Well said glen1971 you summed up what I have being trying to say. I practically begged TC for some sort of refund as basically I felt like I had been ripped off, I was told they would try on compassionate grounds as they had refunded on compassionate grounds before, next I heard from them was 'we are a business' so no compassion from these people at all and as I said in a previous post their demand for payment was worse than my creditors.

You do not need an intermediary that charges an IP direct does the same job for free all an intermediary (middleman) does is charge extortionate fees to pass your details on to an IP. Once TC had my money and passed my details on they never contacted me again until then wanted their second payment, not even a follow-up. Some service.

[sueann]

That was quite an interesting post glen1971.

Thomas Charles ... what level of service would you have provided to these people for £2,400 and how would the level of service differ from that provided to those paying the substantially lower sum of £500???

In my eyes, it smacks of desperation trying to change the mind of someone who has told you that they have decided to dispense with an intermediary and opted to go directly to an IP and to offer a lower fee, suggests that you were in fact over charging in the first place.

Why do you not provide your service for a fixed fee? Do you not think that in charging two or three months worth of contributions, you are taking advantage of people in difficult situations? Those people who have been charged £2,400 for the benfit of your services must feel very hard done by when they see that others in this thread have only had to stump up £500 for the same thing. That is a huge difference don't you think and for what?

I, and I am sure others would welcome your comments on this particular point.

The sales pitch to me was that my 2 extra payments on my IVA are slightly less than the IVA... in other words based on my disposable income. I am thinking this is a job for Watch Dog.

[Chris.z]

I have read this thread with interest as I am currently in the process of trying for a 2nd IVA after my 1st one failed. Both companies I have looked into at present are charging 2 months of upfront fee's - Both stating different reason's. 1 that it looks good to creditors if a contribution has been made and the 2nd being that it covers preliminary work. When I asked if they were refundable they said not and that it would just go towards a DMP as it was impossible for creditors to refuse a debt management plan.

I think the only solution is that IVA's are regulated and a decision is made that everyone follows.

Still no one seems to be able to say wether or not it is best to pay if an IVA is agreed following a meeting or whilst a case is being compiled that we should make payments. It is already confusing and stressful enough when in debt.... But I have got the impression at times that if we pay immediately that an IVA is looked on more favourably by creditors??????[?]

[kallis3]

We paid nothing at all before ours as we had no cheque book or debit card. Our meeting was agreed with very few modifications and we just set up the standing order afterwards with no problems at all

[TheMatrix]

The sales pitch to me was that my 2 extra payments on my IVA are slightly less than the IVA... in other words based on my disposable income. I am thinking this is a job for Watch Dog.

Same here, I had an endownment policy which matured 2 months after after I contacted them, they told me to continue paying the endownment and they would knock the £50 off the first two installments which I needed to make payable to them. Then the fee would increase by £50 when the endownment matured. I put forward the case that the creditors would have got a better return as it was only 2 months towards the end of the policy and they would get the additional bonuses and lump sum at the start of the IVA so this was agreed.

[Cybus]

...

Still no one seems to be able to say wether or not it is best to pay if an IVA is agreed following a meeting or whilst a case is being compiled that we should make payments. It is already confusing and stressful enough when in debt.... But I have got the impression at times that if we pay immediately that an IVA is looked on more favourably by creditors??????[?]

If you are asked to pay upfront, only pay it if you have been advised that in the event of rejection of your arrangement, those funds will be repaid to you and no one else.

I do not believe that there are any statistics that can confirm or otherwise that an IVA has a better chance of approval if payments are made up front. I suspect it is just spiel. I wonder if those people, who have told you that, refund monies paid in the event of rejection.

Thomas Charles ... you seem reluctant to answer these queries?