Big Does Not Necessarily Mean Bad

[OPTIMIST12]

Just got home from work an hour or so ago and have been reading through all todays (or rather yesterdays!!!) posts on the forum.

There were a number which gave details of posters being disappointed with - or sceptical of - certain large-scale providers.

I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record but - to everyone - please remember that myself (and I am sure many many others) are with a big company and are happy - and have absolutely no complaints. It is true that they will inevitably lack the personal touch but - when you consider the number of cases they deal with - a number of disappointed or dissatisfied customers are inevitable.

And this is in no way meant as a moan about anyone - and noone can doubt the brilliant service provided by the smaller companies in the sector (just witness this forum!!!) - but I think that the "big" players have sometimes come in for some unfair criticism.

Thank You and Good Night!!!

[oldcazza]

I can't help but wonder if you were being treat with the same incompetency as we are,by the "bigger firm " you would be of the same mind set as a few of us disgruntled customers, I am a consumer paying for a service that quite frankily i am not getting,and as mel pointed out , its disgusting that another IP is assisting us in just getting through to our own IP,or even a competent member of staff. I make no apologies for this curt response, but sometimes i feel there is a definite lets no make a comment that could ruffle someones feathers, sorry ,but i'm entitled to my opinion, be it good or bad, after all ,this is a debating forum as well as a support tool is it not?

[OPTIMIST12]

Absolutely - and I agree that if I was being faced with what you are then I would be angry too!!! I am not trying to make excuses for anyone - or rather any company - just trying to put another side of the coin for people who may have only recently found the forum. Your point of view is just as important as mine - maybe more so as you have specific examples of poor service whereas my IVA has gone without incident so far.

Thanks for your post. I am quite happy when people disagree with me - like you say - thats what a forum is all about. But - I think it is equally valid to give a company some good feedback when they deserve it as the majority of the threads are inevitably from people who are having difficulties or problems. I think iva.com shows that most companies / providers have a range of both happy and unhappy customers.

I know I have at times "ruffled a few feathers" since I started posting on the forum - but all my views are honestly held. BUT certainly no more valid than anyone elses!!!!

[louiseh]

I also have an IVA with a large company, although they were slow in setting up my IVA due to the sheer number of cases they were dealing with, I can't say I have any complaints. Yes you don't get the personal service and I've never spoken to my IP, but to me personally thats not a bad thing. I didn't want a hand holding service, clinical but functional is fine by me. At the end of the day the size of the company doesn't matter as long as you get the service you personally need. If you're not getting what you need then it's not right whatever size company you're dealing with; after all you are paying for a service as in any other industry. If they're not delivering, you have every right to complain.

[oldcazza]

I agree with both your comments and I am not a person to complain unnecessarily, working in customer service myself, god knows there are people who will complain about nout! in our situation we are living a nightmare and our IVA could fail because of debt Matters inability to communicate with us, so forgive me if i do seem a little less than impressed, this is our lives they are messing around with , i re-iterate my previous point ,I would never recommend them to anyone.

[OPTIMIST12]

I suppose when all is said and done what really matters is that people - whoever they are with - complete their IVAs successfully and receive their Certificate at the end. Any number of posts / threads on this forum (not least oldcazzas) show that it can be a long and difficult journey for a myriad of reasons.

Perhaps it is time for the Insolvency Service to start providing regularly updated statistics on their website to show the numbers of IVAs successfully completed AND which company has supervised those successful IVAs. As time goes by this would give an open and non-biased / judgemental picture of exactly who is seeing things through to the end. People then thinking about entering an IVA would have a useful source of information.

[MelanieGiles]

Now that is a very good idea - and I gather some thought is already being put into this - but do bear in mind that it is usually the actions of the debtor rather than the IP which lead to IVA failure!

[OPTIMIST12]

Thats true - though I suppose every IP gets their share of debtors who let the side down - so presumably that factor would average out over everyone.

[joh71262]

I'm sure there are people with IVA's in any size company that have experienced a problem at one time or another. If I had to do it all again, I certainly wouldn't choose Debtmatters. The IVA's are covered by a lot of terms and conditions and, if not explained correctly, could lead to many problems further down the line.

I disagree that a default is solely the fault of the debtor - suppose someone has tried and tried to get hold of their IP and cannot ?? This is not totally the debtors fault.

Perhaps a regulatory body that actually contacts each person that holds an IVA and asks for feedback as per www.iva.com would be in order ???

[OPTIMIST12]

Agreed - there must be any number of reasons for default. I would be a bit concerned though about asking individual debtors for feedback - unless the company was also given a right of reply. There are always two sides to every story.

[Skippy]

I was with a large company and if I had my time again I would have gone with a smaller company. I dealt with one person while the proposal was being drawn up, another when the IVA was accepted and someone else after that. I didn't know I could speak to my IP and I wasn't offered a face to face meeting - it wouldn't have been possible anyway as I had been referred to a company hundreds of miles away!

My original IP left the company (I'd never spoken to him), and to be fair, his replacement did phone me himself when I told my case manager I was having problems making the payments. It was him who confirmed that BR was my best option. He also gave me a lot of advice about the BR procedure. I wish that I had had that level of service from day one.