Hi, I am after advice in relation to my options following completion of my IVA by means of a full and final offer.
The circumstances are that I explored voluntary severance and obtained the figures before speaking to my IVA firm by phone and e-mail in relation to what offer in their professional opinion is likely to be accepted by creditors. I explained that I was looking at having to retrain and re-qualify if I left my niche job and that I would need to have sufficient funds left in order to pay for this as well as purchase a car as mine was on its last legs. I was quoted a figure which I asked them to re-check would have left me funds in order to do this and went ahead and signed the severance agreement. The full and final meeting was listed for the end of November which coincided with my leaving date.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I rang after hearing nothing to find that the figure was another £5000 extra. This was the money earmarked for retraining and open university. I could not go back on the voluntary severance as I had by this point signed the contract after the advice I was given and could not reverse my decision.
I am now left in a position whereby I cannot afford to retrain and do open university.
Do I have any course for redress?
I appreciate some people would think just be happy that the IVA is over however, I have given up my career to get the lump sum in order to have a fresh start, retrain and start over.
Any advice appreciated.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
When I received the call with the result, they stressed that they only gave me their professional opinion and that it was likely to be accepted and offered apologies.
I am guessing they had things covered with that answer.
If I had received the full and final actual figure before signing the voluntary severance agreement, I would not have signed. I did push and do all that I could in advance of signing and took their advice and expertise as after all, their full and final offer dept deal with this each and every day. Just at a loss at present as to if I should press ahead. I am now out of work, have applied for 45 jobs without success as I am not qualified, and eating into the remainder of my money as I have no monthly wage. Exactly the situation which I was trying to avoid!
For the full and final to have been accepted you would have had to accept the increase demanded. Otherwise the variation cannot have been approved so ask your IP who agreed the increase on your behalf. the offer you made was fine but if creditors asked for more you should have had the opportunity to withdraw the variation.
Thanks Michael. I called to find the result of the offer of the full and final and it was at this time I was informed the off was rejected and they wanted the extra £5k. I was leaving employment having signed my severance contract and feel that I had no choice but to accept. I asked the IVA rep to go back to them and explain my situation however, they came back and said the creditors would not budge. I had no choice but to accept. I couldn't withdraw my severance as it was too late, contract signed and leaving days later. If i refused to accept the increase, then I would have been in the position of having still to make the final two years payments without a job and the severance payment would have come out in the annual reviews. catch 22 and really feel I have been misled. I was told one figure, told it was very likely to be accepted, they got someone else to confirm this, i made the decision to accept the severance based on this ensuing enough money to retrain and complete open university, then hit with the extra amount. At all times I had asked the IVA company well in advance what I could expect to pay as I needed to make an informed decision in order to decide if I would take severance, yet the creditors variation meeting was not held until after I signed the contract for severance (IVA companies decision), based on the information, despite me telling IVA company I needed to know the figure before I signed.
Hi - if you didn't accept the revised variation then it wasn't approved - this possibly leaves your IVA to continue as it was before although there may now be an issue that the severance pay is due into the IVA.
Depending on timescales they could adjourn the meeting to see if they can get sufficient votes to change the outcome. Perhaps there are creditors who didn't claim etc. I suspect only one creditor insisted on the £5k extra.
I would challenge your IP about this.
Unfortunately it sounds like you accepted the severance before getting confirmation the variation had been formally accepted.
Thanks. I followed the advice of the advisor, it was he who set the meeting for after I had signed the severance contract despite me stating over two months previously that I needed a definitive answer for before I signed the contract. The severance was time critical, I had done the legwork in advance and was led to believe by the IP company that the figure put forward was extremely likely to be accepted. I feel as though I have been well and truly had over by the IP despite all my efforts.
In terms of the creditors, it was indeed only one who pushed for the extra money. I just feel so frustrated as I am now without a job, cannot now afford to undergo Open University and the remaining money will only last another 4 months.
Ask for a copy of all documentation linked to the meeting plus a copy of any recording.
This should be free as the request is linked to the processing of data within the last 40 days.
Additionally they were acting as your representative in this matter.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
I really feel for you but I don't know what you ca do really. You acknowledge that they said that your offer was extremely likely to be accepted, it's not the same as a guarantee it will be. From posts on here alone I have seen offers that looked low accepted and offers that looked generous rejected. I can see you had little choice to accept but the time critical contract at work bound you not theiva.
Have you looked into bursaries or other funding for further education?
Express to your IP you're thinking about making a complaint, in particular as you did not agree to the variation. See if the meeting can be adjourned as I suggested or put forward the variation again to try and sort.
Thanks for the above comments. The title is misleading (I didn't give it this title!).
If I can simplify the issue:
I went to my IP in July to discuss the VS and asked what would be a fair offer likely to be accepted. They confirmed the figure which then continued to be quoted for the next few months and at least two representatives confirmed that this is very likely to be accepted in their experience. I said that i would need to be sure, they said again it is likely to be accepted. I signed my VS based on this, my variation meeting was set by IP for 3 days before I was due to leave employment. I could then not pull out, the meeting went ahead and my offer was rejected, they quoted £5k more. I had no option but to accept as I could not guarantee that I would get straight back into employment.
My issue is that I went above and beyond, asking for professional advice from experienced full and final representatives on several occasions, in the months leading up to the VS leave date, the variation meeting itself was too close to the leave date even though the IVA company knew two months before the leave date.
I am now unemployed, cannot afford to retrain and still do Open University. Quite simply, annoyed.
The variation should have been called within 3-4 weeks of you requesting this and you would not have been obliged then to accept the redundancy. I think that is the only realistic basis for complaint as you did agree the extra at the time.
I understand your frustration. Your IP can only indicate what is likely to be accepted, they do not answer on behalf of creditors. They then have to check paperwork and give notice for the meeting which someone with more experience than me can confirm, I think it's 28 days.
Going forward, can you apply for student funding? There are several avenues possibly open, speak yo someone at the careers advice service or to the university or your local college.
I understand your frustration. Your IP can only indicate what is likely to be accepted, they do not answer on behalf of creditors. They then have to check paperwork and give notice for the meeting which someone with more experience than me can confirm, I think it's 28 days.
Going forward, can you apply for student funding? There are several avenues possibly open, speak yo someone at the careers advice service or to the university or your local college.
