www.iva.co.uk

Hi all,
A friend of mine is considering an IVA with Gopher.
She has debts of around £32,000 and has an income of £1,550 per month.
After the necessary living costs have been taken into account, Gopher have said that they would be able to enter her into an IVA with monthly payments of about £120. To me, this seems to good to be true as DFD were taking £400 per month from me when my debt was £27,000.

Now here's the bit that smells a bit fishy to me...

Gopher say they will start taking payments immediately even before the creditors agree to an IVA. If the application fails they will keep taking payments to put into a payment plan to prove to creditors that she is able to pay, and then reapply for an IVA. Should the application fail again, she would be offered either a debt management plan, bankruptcy, or a refund of payments. Is this normal or something she should be wary of?

Hi 502emu

How much you pay into an IVA depends on your indvidual circumstances so that in itself is not that worrying. Gopher money are brokers so they will sell the case to a firm of IPs to process your IVA, does your friend know which IP will be dealing with her case?

I would be wary of making upfront payments, none of the firms featured on this site charge up front fees. Maybe she could consider seeking some alternative advice and speaking directly to an insolvency practitioner?

Thanks for the reply Kelly. My friend has been given the name of the person who will be the IP should the application be successful.
It just seems a bit odd that they want payments to commence even before the IVA has been approved.

At our practice we ask for the first IVA payment prior to the creditors meeting but if the IVA is not approved the payment in returned.

I agree with Kelly wholeheartedly, best to only pay up front with a guarantee of monies returned should the IVA not be accepted.

Your friend should certainly shop around and find out what the true surplus income would be in an IVA. If she pays up front and then the IP sets the payments at a higher unaffordable level, will she get her money back?

Good point Michael. I spoke to Gopher on her behalf last night to raise up issues after my own experiences with DFD, but failed to ask that question. I'll get my friend to raise that issue when Gopher call her tomorrow.

It seems that Gopher are merely introducers and anything they say should be taken with a pinch of cautionary salt, as it will be the eventual IP who makes the running ( and the rules).

Personally, other than a first payment to be held in trust, I would be wary of any firm wanting monies up front.

I would strongly advise a bit of shopping around -- it costs nothing and could save so much !

Which IP firm are this company going to refer her to? Is there a need for an intermediary? Why doesn't she go straight to the IP directly?

She has now Melanie. She called you yesterday [:)]

I remember speaking to her, and then my colleague Tina. Glad we were able to be of some assistance to her.