was it the right advice?

[richy]

Hi everyone , boy oh boy do i wish this website was around when i entered an iva in 2004 .
After 3 painful years i finally completed in Nov 2006 but from start to finish it just didnt seem right. I'll give u the facts
and would welcome your comments.

Dec 2003 debt £48,000
equity in house £60,000
couple of late payments on cards but otherwise just about managed to keep up
Wanted to sort out finances once and for all because it was only going to get worse.
Contacted debt councellor they advised me that i should go into an iva .
£750 later i was accepted and all my details were forwarded to an i.p
( not fully explained beforehand though)

jan 2004. I.p contacted me told me to stop paying everyone immediatly , set up a direct debit and had to pay them £400 a month instead based on the info given until the iva was in place which would be soon.oh and their fee was £3000 plus dispursments Eh!! what are they . anyway stuffed now already paid the others £750 not much choice

feb 2004 Hell on earth , creditors phone calls letters every hour
march 2004 hell on eatrh see above
April 2004 hell on earth see above
May 2004 Oh something different a ccj
June 2004 Hell on earth, News from I.p yep wont be long anothe ccj
July 2004 Hell on earth see above
August 19 2004 finally went through but....now owe £54,000
75p in the pound by way of a remortgage to clear witin 3 years and £270 a month for term of iva
Slight problem with that is that in the 8 months it took to finally get somewhere my credit rating had dissapeared and i did not earn enough to get the mortgage ,had i been told this in January !! Anyway didnt panic stared hunting for remortgage
What a ripoff
The only mortgages i could get were more per month than the origional debt so what use is that
2006
Had enough of it hanging over my head
decided only way out is to sell the house
Oh and guess what they want 100% back what a surprise
Oh dispursments meant another £2000 in fees
nov 2006
house sold yipeee the leaches are gone i owe no one anything God that feels good apart from cant get any sort of mortgage or credit even though i paid in full
nagging feelin though that ive been ripped off
Hmm Phoned the same debt councellors that i first contacted in dec 2003 Gave them exactly the same info debt £48000, equity £60000
but this time they told me that because of the equity i would have to remortgage and an i.v.a would be no use . I have been ripped off i think
aug 2007
looking on experian at my credit report and found that there is still an outstanding ccj and that one credit card has an outstanding balance .
Will i ever be free
Who can i complain to about the I.p
What is a completion certificate
In my opinion the origional debt councellor gave me the wrong information surly there should be some comeback on this
If you havnt fallen asleep yet any comments would be appreciated

[MelanieGiles]

Hi Richy

I am afraid that this does look as if it was a case of mis-selling, and your first port of call ought to be with the IP to explain the advice that you were given. Was the fact that you had equity of £60k at the outset of the IVA disclosed to creditors? If so, I am amazed that they accepted the offer in the first place.

If the IP refuses to deal with the issue, you could make a complaint to his/her regulatory body, however you would need to be able to prove that you were not offered different options by the IP with regard to dealing with your debts - such as selling or re-mortgaging your property. Given the passage of time, this could be difficult to prove either way.

Ultimately, a group of individuals have recently formed "The IVA Council" and are said to be backed by a legal firm who is looking into cases of mis-selling. You may wish to look into this as well, although they have had some pretty rought press since they launched their service.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[Adam Davies]

Hi
I think that the first port of call is your IP firms regulatory body,with equity exceeding your unsecured debts you should never have been proposed for an IVA.If you tel the Insolvency Serices on 0207 6371110 they will be able to tell you the name of your IPs regulatory body.
Please keep us informed
regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[richy]

Thanks for the advice . i will do the things you have suggested and
I will let you know how i get on