Synergi extortianate 'costs' bill

[markyp]

Hello,

Me and my partner embarked on an IVA having recieved (what turned out to be) bad advice from debts.co.uk who forwarded our case onto Synergi. Following months of little contact save for the occasional request from them for a bank statement or a bill here and there, it was only when a debt collector from Barclaycard knocked on our door and advised us to contact the Consumer credit council to inquire about a debt management programme rather than an IVA that we realised an IVA was not right for us. We duly informed Synergi (having first checked with them that we had no legal obligation to them) that we no longer wished to proceed and duly went forward with the CCC. This morning we recieved a bill from Synergi for over £4000 for their 'costs'! We had been paying approximately £400 per month to Synergi up until our decision not to proceed, totalling just over £1000, money which we were told was to cover their costs in the interim and some of which was to be kept aside for our creditors on the premise that it would look good at our creditors meeting. In the 5 months we had been proceeding with Synergi they did no more than write an initial letter to some, not even all, of our creditors and have a 5 minute telephone conversation with one of their representatives to explain to us how the process worked. We were, in fact, thinking of reporting them to the financial ombudsman even before we recieved this bill to complain about the length of time the process seemed to be taking and the added stress they were causing us. And now this! Where do we stand? Apologies for the length of this e-mail.

Mark

[Adam Davies]

Hi Mark
I'm afraid we hear one horror story after another on this forum about Synergi.
Have you any copies of documents that you have signed with regards to having Synergi act for you[letter of engagement] ?
Speak with Synergi and ask them to accept payments made to date to cover their costs,if they refuse then ask for proof that you owe them the money[letter of engagement] then lodge a complaint with the regulatory body.
Are you sure that a DMP is right for you ?
How much are your total unsecured debts,your disposible income and equity in your house ?
Regards


Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson and Website Manager

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[markyp]

Hi Andy,

Yes I am sure a DMP is the best way forward, you may vaguely remember advising me a few weeks ago, I got a new job with a substantial pay increase. Synergi have sent us a 'breakdown' of the costs, but it is insane, it would be funny if I wasn't so stressed about it; the breakdown includes hundreds of pounds for sending a letter to a creditor, they've even charged us for recieving letters from us and £300 for a telephone conversation that didn't even take place because they forgot to call us on the date arranged! The bill they sent us was, ironically, in response to an e-mail we sent them asking for the money we had already paid to be refunded!

[markyp]

Hi Andy,

Yes I am sure a DMP is the best way forward, you may vaguely remember advising me a few weeks ago, I got a new job with a substantial pay increase. Synergi have sent us a 'breakdown' of the costs, but it is insane, it would be funny if I wasn't so stressed about it; the breakdown includes hundreds of pounds for sending a letter to a creditor, they've even charged us for recieving letters from us and £300 for a telephone conversation that didn't even take place because they forgot to call us on the date arranged! The bill they sent us was, ironically, in response to an e-mail we sent them asking for the money we had already paid to be refunded!

[MelanieGiles]

As a hardworking professional who constantly strives to try and do the right thing for my clients, and posters on this forum, I am afraid that I am getting fed up about hearing complaints about this firm - particularly when they are witholding monies from their own clients and sending out ridiculous bills. I strongly suggest a referral to the Financial Ombudsman is now appropriate to stop this happening in the future to other innocent people.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[markyp]

Thanks Melanie,

I take it from the frustrated tone of your e-mail that this is something we are within our rights to contest and have a good chance of telling Synergie where to stick their insane bill!? I would actually rather go to prison than pay it!
Mark

[Adam Davies]

Hi
I remember now Mark.
Lodge a complaint with the FO,part of the process is that you have to have a "final"leter from Synergi stating that they will not agree to your request,so write a letter demanding repayment of monies paid and state that you will be lodging a complaint with the FO in fourteen days if no refund is made.
Please keep this forum posted
regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson and Website Manager

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[markyp]

Hi Andy,

Thanks very much for your advice, I will follow it to the letter and let the forum knows what happens.

Mark

[Skippy]

Synergi have screwed a lot of people on this forum and it's about time something was done about them as they give decent IPs like Melanie and Catullus a bad name.

Good luck with getting your money back Mark.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[CoverItAll]

Good luck markyp

That's excellent advice from both Melanie and Andy. Professional Firms that do not adhere to the standards of advice and service laid down by their relevant professional bodies need to be forced to do so, or shut down.

John Tegg
www.protectiva.co.uk
0800 180 0099

We will make all your IVA payments for you if Accident or Sickness stops you paying them yourself.

[markyp]

Absolutely! They are a truly evil company. The ironic thing is that if they'd sent me a letter telling me to whistle for the money i'd already given them for their 'trouble' I probably would have given up, but now they've insulted my intelligence with this insane 'bill' i'll fight them all the way. I wouldn't have minded so much if they'd actually done something for me, but they've done nothing but drag the process out so for long that its added to my stress tenfold and escalated my debts due to the interest i've incured while they've fart assed about with my case for 6 months. B******s!!

[emma_t]

Hi markyp

What a nightmare and a cheek they have sending you a bill for doing next to nothing, I recieved such an excelent service from Melanie and her team and I wish this level of service was the norm and everyone got the same great advice an help. It is so annoying to hear these horror stories when the majority of people in an iva recieve good service from their IP's.
Good luck with your case with them and I hope you have a swift resolution - let us all know how you get along
Emma x

[Adders]

In the interest of Fairness and without being shot down i have had a totally differant experiance with Synergi. My IVA was accepted in September. It took them and debts.co.uk just under 4 months to sort from begining to end. I always had a named person to deal with at the end of the phone. I only had to start making payments once the proposal had been done and sent to creditors. (meaning just one payment pre IVA acceptance) I have asked what will happen to this one payment and was told it would be added in to the IVA at the end or used as a buffer should i need to reduce payments at anytime( Must say i do question this bit and would like to put it to the test).
I am sure the toalt cost that Synergi have accepted to deal with my IVA over the 5 years is not much off the £5000 mark as creditors made them reduce there fees. So yes to bill you that amount is a smack in the mouth and im sure in my IVA proposal they give a breakdown of there costs so ill dig it out to give you some idea of acceptable costs.

Anyway it looks as if i am a lucky one who did get correct advice from Synergi with a meeting discussing Bancruptcy or IVA, DMP was a no no from the start. And i can not complain regarding the service they gave to me. I suppose if my IVA was regected i may have seen another side to them.

One question regarding the bill. Did you at any point sign any kind of contract with Debts.co.uk or Synergi. I don;t think i did.

[emma_t]

thats encouraging Adders - a different side of the coin and I am glad your experience has been positive.
Although they have had a bad press you have to speak as you have found
Emma x

[Adam Davies]

Hi Adders
Thanks for the post,we welcome a balanced view on this forum
Regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson and Website Manager

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp