www.iva.co.uk

Do I absolutely have to use the PPI claims company my IP wants me to?

I am in an IVA with a large insolvency practitioner... I'd prefer not to say which one. They are making it clear to me that I have an obligation to assist them in recovering PPI assets and I understand this. However I wish to use a claims company that I have identified who will charge a lower fee than the one they are advising me to use. What is the legal position on this? Can they insist that I use the CMC they recommend?

They have to be sure that PPI has been fully investigated -- it could be argued to be reasonable for them to double check.

One thing to watch out for, if you instruct your own company, you are responsible for the fees. If a creditor offsets PPI against their debt or sends the refund direct to the IP ( as some do on both counts) the fee will have to come from your own pocket, the IP is under no compulsion to refund any fee to you for a company you instruct.

There is little incentive for you to instruct your own CMC unless you are paying 100p in the £ and will benefit from the lower costs. You could also try it yourself but it is doubtful if you would get the same results as a CMC.

It's not actually necessary to claim PPI through a claims company. It's a process you can handle very easily yourself simply by contacting the banks from whom you took out the loans in writing, and they are legally obliged to investigate your claim. Claim companies offering PPI recovery services are nothing more than a rip-off - they will charge you upwards of 25% of your settlement for doing something you could easily have done yourself.

I claimed all my PPI myself. My IVA company did at a later date commission a claims company, but as expected they found no PPI unclaimed so were out of pocket to the tune of the postage costs. I signed their request letter just to stop them pestering me with inane correspondence.

I appreciate that it is irksome to see a chunk of money that could have gone to the creditors, going to a claims company for very little work. I used to be of the same mind.

However, I have now changed my tune to the effect that, if the creditors are stupid enough to agree to these criminal commission rates, they get what they deserve, i.e. a lower dividend.

Agree with Foggy - really my only concern is that I know who the IP has shared my information with.