variation meeting

[oldcazza]

hi wonder if anyone can help ..again ..getting myself in a right state ...we have been in an iva for 26 months with debt matters and have never been particulaly impressed by the service...no reviews or much contact ..aside from that we got into difficulties as i was off work due to bereavement and went into arrears which tok us over the 3 month rule...should of arranged something i know but grief is a terrible thing ...anyway...paid off all but 1 month of arrears and was told this is fine and then a failure letter turned up...to cut a long story we have to now wait until 25th feb for the meeting of creditors to re take place ...im so confused and worried i don't see hopw we need a 3 month ext. on a 60 month iva as we were only 1 month in arrears i;m terrified the creditors will vote against us and we'd paid 5k for nout !!1can any expert help???

[Adam Davies]

Hi
That's a strange one,you are only one month in arrears and you have a failure letter.
Is there any other reason why they would do this ?
Regards

[oldcazza]

hi andy, apparently before we paid the arrears off we wwere in breach and the money crossed over with the failure letter being sent but the new meeting letter says nothing about us clearing the arrears,im worried that the creditors will vote for the termination again as they already have voted for a failure the first time around...this meeting is a retraction on debt matters part we were told ...i wonder myself what is going on ...do we have a case if we are now only 1 month in arrears ?

[Adam Davies]

Hi
so you have already had one variation meeting when you first got into arrears ?
Now there is another variation meeting to retract the failure of your IVA ? is this correct ?
The three month extension could be to make up the cost of the two variation meetings
Regards

[oldcazza]

yeah thats right ...the first meeting was held and the creditors agreed to fail the iva ...as d.m. had not told them about us clearing the arrears...then a retraction meeting was arranged for 4th feb ..no one replied so they have adjourned this meeting...debt matters that is...until 25th feb but im so worried they will fail it without the correct info the creditors will think we are still in arrears ..the prop[ositon f
letter states we are £707 in arrears ..not true though ...is it just a scam for more money on d.m part?

[Adam Davies]

Hi'
No I don't think so
Give your IP a call,problem is that in large companies junior staff can draft variation proposals and make mistakes such as this
Regards

[ianmillington]

I am certain there is no malice or scam. Major things have happened over the last few months at DM which have led to disruption. Andy's interpretation is IMHO absolutely right. Just make sure you keep close to the situation whilst you are waiting for the outcome of the meeting.

Ian

[MelanieGiles]

I understand that DebtMatters have recently sold the majority of their IVA clientbase to two other major firms (I will not mention them on the forum in case my intelligence is incorrect), so you may find an improvement in service in due course.

In my honest opinion, there is no point in this meeting proceeding, and your IP (whoever that may now be) ought to advise creditors that it is not proceeding given that you have caught up with your payments - albeit you are one month behind. Neither you, nor your creditors, should be charged for the meeting - if you had paid over the money before the report was issued. If the report was issued before the money was received, then that is simply a timing issue, which your IP can appraise creditors of on the day of the meeting.

None of this is likely to jeopardise the IVA - creditors still would rather be paid at the end of the day.

[oldcazza]

thanks for the replys i really appreciate it,i can never speak to my ip,mark prideaux as he doesn't take calls,so i only get the office staff it does seem a waste of time but what worries me is that the letter to creditors states i.m 707 pound in arrears ,,,spoke to finance section and im only 137 pound so i hope they tell them that ,,,,its a long time till 25th feb ...a long time to worry!!!

[MelanieGiles]

Insist that this is brought to creditors attention - and personally I find it an extreme shame that the person who is professionally representing you refuses to speak to you.

[oldcazza]

Insist that this is brought to creditors attention - and personally I find it an extreme shame that the person who is professionally representing you refuses to speak to you.

how do i know they will bring it to the creditors attention i have lost all faith in them melanie,i'm trying to be nice to the lad who is dealing with it in fear of jepardising the meeting, but it all seems so pointless and worrying for 15 days is crap!

[MelanieGiles]

I suggest that you e-mail your IP - using a read and delivery receipt - to express your concerns, firstly at his refusal to engage with you directly, secondly with regard to the fact that you are no longer in default, and thirdly to instruct him to bring the second point to your creditors direct attention either prior to or during the creditors meeting.

In the unlikely event that something like this happened in my practice, I would be sending out letters to creditors confirming that the variation meeting was being cancelled and providing the reasons why.

[oldcazza]

i will do what you advise melanie,,,,word for word,,,,wish i'd found you first!!!! carol x

[ianmillington]

As an alternative.....

I know Mark Prideaux personally and know how to get hold of him.

If the poster can tell me her real name I will be delighted to speak to him on Monday about it, with a view to putting the wheel back on if he can. I am sure that is what he would want to do.

Ian

[MelanieGiles]

Ian

As you know the IP so well, why do you think that he refuses to take calls from worried clients who just need some support and advice?

This sort of occurs far to frequently on this forum, and it should not take another IP to get them to react - although I am sure that Oldcazza will be delighted with your intervention.