This is serious gill.p. Are you saying that B&E took without permission £750 as a referral fee to put you in touch with their IVA arm Blair Endersby?
seanm1 - the DRO looks feasible but will need as Melanie points out the facts from you.Possibilities also to do an IVA though.
Regards, David Mond, Insolvency Practitioner for over 46 years. Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year 2012, Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year finalist 2013 & 2014 awarded by Insolvency & Rescue Magazine and 2015 finalist for Personal Insolvency Firm of the Year.
At the time we where desperate for a solution and Baines and Ernst said they could help, they went through an interview with us on the phone, advised us to make minimum payments to our creditors and then asked for two months fees, before they could start the ball rolling with blair endersby, they where very pushy about taking the money, and advised by paying this amount sooner, it would get the process moving. It was with my permission as I was desperate for some help and didn't shop around. I did not know I had any choice as i was very vulnerable at the time. I have since been on this website and also read Andy's book, which say never pay anyone up front and have concerns about this inital money which was taken in the first place, as I am sure I could have approached their sister company direct. Is there anything I can do? As I am awaiting a creditors meeting Thursday 16th for FFS and would not want to spoil my chances by looking into this and possibly taking it further.
Gill.P - I was in exactly the same position as you.
I was in a very small scary place when I got the calls from Bains & Ernest - through filling in one of those web things.
I was only at the beginning of accepting our debt problems & too had a very convincing pushing hour & half phone call with Baines & Ernest. They too told me to stop paying my creditors & they had "worked out my IVA payment" on the first phone call & told me I had to pay them the first two months IVA payments to start my IVA. Which then turns out these where "set up fees" to pass me over to Blair Endersby - they never went towards my IVA.
Baines & Ernest also made promises on how my IVA would be handled & I would have one person to deal with every step of my IVA & for the 5 years - Never happened.
The payments they originally told me I would be paying turned out to be higher. Baines & Ernest made me believe I would be able to live on 270 a month for a family 4 - for food! I got given 295 by blair endersby - which I found to be unrealistic & had to basically beg for it to be increased - do not know how I would of coped with 270. I also was asked to find my first IVA payment - before my creditors meeting which I was unable to do - so they spread it over my first 3 IVA payments - making the start to our IVA life very hard. I dont know where this first payment has "gone" as when I later started to really look at my paper work from them - they still have me down on my direct debits as 60 payments - when in my mind it should be 59?!
I really really wish I had found this forum before going down the route with BE, I am dreading my review with them & sick of them never responding to anything you write or say to them - to be quite honest they really make me wana cry sometimes.
Final IVA payment made in April 2013, never ever thought we could do it or get through it but we did! X
An IVA.co.uk Mentor is someone sharing from their experiences of dealing with debt
I am with Blair Endersby also and I must admit I find there lack of Customer Service is beyond belief, they are all people (Call Centre - no disrespect to every call centre worker because I used to be one) who do not know what they are talking about.
I would be very interested to hear Blair Endersby's response as they post on here and also if the fee I paid to Baines and Ernst can be reclaimed!!!
know the feeling Mrs Knight. That's why this forum is so good. I found by complaining here, my queries got dealt with. I was eventually given a contact who dealt with all my problems (but i did insist on this, as I had never spoken to and IP ever!!!) I am currently waiting for a creditors meeting and have been dealing with someone on their payments team who is really efficient and been dealing with all my queries, although I know David had a little word in their ear when it had all gone quiet for a while, Just pinning all my hopes and future until my FFS meeting on thursday is over and hopefully accepted. (Very nervous)
I am very curious about the inital payments being taken at a time when people are vulnerable, and yet they have never been put towards the iva, surely this is a huge admin fee, if thats what they claim it is. It doesn't seem right. I look forward to an experts advice on what can be done about this.
Hi
£295 food allowance for a family of four is very unrealistic.
CCCS guidelines are between £293 and £471, sounds as if they were trying to make your figures fit an IVA
Regards
Hi Rayb
Thanks for your info - it nice to see someone with them on here & whom has coped for so long with them.
I too would be interested in their response it its other than their usual "send them a email" etc.
I can still remember the name of the guy whom convinced me to pay them & go for an IVA - but I do not know the names of the many that I have spoken to at BE. Though I do know the IPs names though I have never spoken to either of them.
Final IVA payment made in April 2013, never ever thought we could do it or get through it but we did! X
An IVA.co.uk Mentor is someone sharing from their experiences of dealing with debt
Hi Andy
They did alter my figures & I questioned it & the response was they had given us the maxium allowances that they where allowed to give us.
Also while I was going through the process with my IVA with BE - I contacted a couple of other IVA companies out of curiosity & was informed we didnt meet the criteria for an IVA & should be going for bancruptcy. One of the advisers from another company said that 295 was to low too. But I was so scared of going bancrupt & went through with my IVA with BE.
We had no idea of what we actually spent on food b4 the IVA - due to putting it in the trolley & paying for it by credit card. & have now found out 295 is unrealistic but only managed to get it increased to 327 - still very difficult to manage, to the point I am now only eating one meal a day to ensure there is enough food to feed my children & husband. Other allowances for thing like clothes, car maintaince, etc are getting eaten up too mainly due to food & petrol costs. I know we are not supposed to be suffering like this & just not sure which path to take next.
Final IVA payment made in April 2013, never ever thought we could do it or get through it but we did! X
An IVA.co.uk Mentor is someone sharing from their experiences of dealing with debt
It has been a hard slog I can tell you but I am getting there slowly but surely.
I would think the response we will get is to send them an email but through here on the forum you normally get a result - funnily enough.
I to felt pressured at the beginning and with Baines and Ernst it was sell, sell, sell but I wanted a solution to my debt problems so felt little choice but hey ho hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Rayb - Totally agree on the sell, sell, sell.
I too was desperate for a solution & felt we had no choice - or that is was made out to us that we had no choice.
Still think a IVA is a excellent solution & I desperately want my IVA to succeed - just not sure about some difficulties that we are having with it & what to do about them.
Final IVA payment made in April 2013, never ever thought we could do it or get through it but we did! X
An IVA.co.uk Mentor is someone sharing from their experiences of dealing with debt
I am waiting for a response by Paymex Group who own both Bains and Ernst and Blair Endersby.
Regards, David Mond, Insolvency Practitioner for over 46 years. Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year 2012, Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year finalist 2013 & 2014 awarded by Insolvency & Rescue Magazine and 2015 finalist for Personal Insolvency Firm of the Year.
I was exactly the same. I was so desperate at the beginning I trusted every word they said. After reading lots on this forum and Andy's book, i have felt foolish for some time handing over a double monthly payment that referred me to someone, I could have gone directly too! I Look forward to hearing your findings David.
I think there has been some major misunderstanding about the referal fee's from Baines and Ernst and Blair Endersby when a customer transfers from a DMP to an IVA. There is no £750 referral fee charged to any client and this has never been our policy. The maximum tranfer fee, to cover addditional admin costs, is £70 and this is clearly explained to clients at the time. Mrs Knight notes that "I too would be interested in their response it its other than their usual "send them a email" etc." but as what is being posted is so at odds with our policy outlined above it is impossible for us to say or do more without people who have posted here contacting us so we can examine these allegations in more detail. My email address is *email address removed*
Sorry Nick, but you are not allowed to put email addresses in posts for your own security and to stop you being inundated with spam.
Last edited by Nick Pearson on Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
