www.iva.co.uk

Do IVA holders have any legal rights when it comes to official complaints please? I have complained directly to Paul Madden at GT and I imagine I will not be impressed with the result of the letter, I have also given all my information to the IPA in the meantime as I'm not willing to wait any longer.
I want to know if I go for legal advice with a solicitor would I have any rights as far as compensation for a completely incompetent service and basically for mucking us around.
Thanks

Hi Churchyn, sorry to read that things have had to get to this stage for you to take formal action. I would imagine you have the same rights as anyone making a complaint about a service provider. Compensation would be a matter of the nature of complaint your are making, however if the outcome does not go in your favour then you would have the cost of the fees to cover. I hope the IPA can assist you in a resolution in the meantime.

Let us know how you get on.

I'm very sad too that's its got to this point but I have to draw a line. I'm seriously considering going to the Consumer Watchdog and making this a public issue. I see nothing of it on tv about people complaining about it but someone has to make a stand to fight for us as consumers. We aren't criminals at the end of the day and an IVA, if we were we would all avoid repaying the debt regardless, it is not a walk in the park by any means and feels it grossly unfair that we are made to wait because these companies are incompetent at closing IVA's (can't think of another word to use).
I don't believe we've ever felt so helpless about anything in our lives.

I really hope you get things resolved soon as helplessness is a horrid feeling to feel. Do what you need to do for yourselves if it helps and sometimes making a stand is what is needed. Im sure GT will want to address this when they see your posts. I know its easier said than done but try not to let your upset and frustration overshadow everything for you. Take care

But do GT actually see any of these posts? I question that.

To me it seems they don't because all I see on here are complaints of GT littered all over the forum. If they do why aren't they doing anything about these problems? It's not like these things only happened yesterday they've had upwards of two years to deal with some of these problems and some are still not resolved.

I am assured that they do monitor these posts ---- and can only assume they don't care or can't change anything and do not feel we are worthy of any dialogue. In the grand scheme of things we forum members are but a few grains on the GT beach ........

Such a shame that the very few complaints that we see reported on this forum, can tar the whole image of members of my profession and the IVA as a working solution to address unaffordable debts. Let's hope that this issue is resolved for churchyn very soon.

I absolutely agree Melanie, it is a shame and causes untold stress to clients, myself included.

I feel it's incredibly unfair that we've done our part and waited and waited and then some on top of that to get a closure, which it still isn't and now we are told we have to wait yet another month to get an answer to my complaint. How is that fair or good customer service?

After reading Karol's blurb next to her name on the Experts list, I laughed to myself because it states: We will always be working to improve our customer service and exceed our clients' expectations - well they failed at that big time and not just for us but for others too.

I have spoken with a solicitor now and will pursue legal action, I feel I have no choice and have to now not just for me but for others too.

I hope it doesn't come to a court case but if it has to then it will.

I do envy people like my sister who has an IVA and her company are just amazing, I pray that when hers ends in 10 months it's straightforward and that we still aren't in our!

Maybe IP's like yourself could be having a quiet word with GT about the problems on here faced by their clients, because they don't seem to be making any effort to comment on any of our posts which I find incredibly insulting and also feel we are worthless as clients.

Any business involved in the service sector, will want to give good customer service because attracting clients is costly and bad press is also costly to future business. However Grant Thornton have an endless free supply of customers from the charity sector to whom they sponsor and if they give bad service so what, the flow of customers will not dry up.

Hi Churchyn, so sorry to hear of the problems you are currently experiencing and have to agree with you, it is sad that a few companies for whatever reason are bringing the IVA world into question which obviously then impacts on those that provide IVA, stick to the terms originally agreed etc. Not fair.

My advice to you if you have gone through the complaints procedure at GT is to now complain to the regulators, if that has already been done then take it to your MP, I did this with mine as I felt I was being fobbed off and low and behold within 4 weeks I got what was rightfully mine. I know that the MP Jo Swinson is also very interested in how those in IVA's are currently being treated, so it might be worth a stamp.

Good luck I hope you get some resolution soon.

Jo Swinson is the Minister for Consumer Affairs, and does take a large interest in areas where it is perceived that there is detriment to consumers within the commercial debt management marketplace.