www.iva.co.uk

Have sent our signed proposal back today with the "First" payment.

Hope that within the next few weeks we will have the date of the creditors meeting and things can move forward from there.

Fingers crossed.

Exellent, best of luck with it.

Best of luck

Why would you send your proposal back with your first payment?

Have you been guaranteed your IVA?

If you can get the money back in the event of rejection then fair enough, but personally I would be very, very wary of paying for a debt solution that nobody can guarantee that you can actually have.

My instinct is to advise you to cancel the cheque/payment unless you have a cast iron guarantee that that money is fully refundable, no questions asked. If not, or if you are paying a packager, then my advice would be to speak to someone who asks for nothing upfront. There are plenty of those such firms about.

Regards.

Mike I think the poster is with Melanie, so the payment is totally safe, I made one payment up front with a guarantee that it would be refunded in the unlikely event of rejection.

All the best and hope the date arrives soon. x

Hope you get a date soon - good luck!

There is no harm in sending the proposal back with the first payment as the meeting will be held quickly afterwards. We do the same if the client has the money and if rejected they get their money back. If they do not have the money we will go ahead and call the meeting anyway and I am sure Melanie operates something similar.

I am with Melanie and I sent my first payment with my signed proposal. I had it in writing that if my IVA was rejected, I would be refunded in full. So I had no concern about sending the cheque.

I had to do the same. Had to pay 2 payments before my IVA was 'officially' set up!

I never had to as I had no way of sending money - no cheques and no debit card.

However, it is always best to check what happens to upfront payments if you are not approved.

How long after sending your proposal back, is a creditors meeting convened?

Can I just assure any clients of mine who are concerned about why they are asked to make a first payment with their returned proposals, that this is very clearly explained during the initial meetings with my staff and the final clearance meetings with myself or my fellow IP. And in the very unlikely event that we will not see the IVA accepted, a full refund is made.

I resent the suggestion in the earlier post that this is in someway something to be wary of. It is actually common practice in most reputable firms, and to suggest that firms who do not ask for such payments are more reputable is pretty unfair.

Once proposals are returned to my office the creditors meeting is generally called on the same day.

Everything was explained thoroughly and fully.

If for any reason it is declined,the money is fully refundable.

Makes sense to me to submit the "First" payment,shows commitment and that we`ve managed to save the suggested amount.

100% satisfied with the way we have been dealt with so far.

I agree everhopeful, there is nothing wrong with making your first payment when you return your proposal as you know that you will get your money back if your proposal is rejected. The problem in some cases is that people pay money and don't realise they won't get it back.

You're in safe hands with Mel and her team. Keep posting to let us know how you're getting on x

I think that making the first payment on return of the proposal when you know the creditors meeting is imminent is fine and as with Melanie's firm fully refundable in the event of a rejection.

However, I think that firms who ask you to start paying as soon as you pick up the phone to them are those to be wary of, especially as you are in panic mode then and will pay whatever you are asked to get you out of the mess you find yourself in.