Freeman Jones - Beware

[KTC14]

I thought I would post on here about our experience with Freeman Jones and our IVA.

We were originally on a Debt Management Programme with Think Banking which was working well for us until we had a call one evening from Freeman Jones advising us that an IVA might be a better option for us. We ran through everything with the caller on the phone and they put our minds at ease about the whole process and how much better it would be for our situation and they prepared the paperwork accordingly. Freeman Jones and Think Money are part of the same group of companies so will share information about your files. Think Insure are also in the group.

We continued on our IVA for about 18 months, until we were given the opportunity to settle our IVA with a gift from family, that's when the fun started.

I contacted FJ and offered a F&F settlement based on our knowledge of what we had already paid, PPI refunds, only to be sent an email showing a figure more than our original IVA debt, we had other factors to take into account, our home was 50/50 owned with Parents and we had a successful PPI claim to factor in - our debt was £35k and they wanted £42k - how does that work? Apprently this is based on 54p in the £1. £49k for 100p in the £1. Even with their 15% charges costs these number do not add up.

I repeatedly explained that there was no equity, right from the start and this was incorporated in the variation report at the beginning, they just could not grasp or understand how it would work.

We were both now really stressed and really did not no which way to turn, family were pressing us regarding the gift and when we needed it, but we could not get a straight and legitimate answer to how much we would need.

In the end we went and sought independent advice from another IP. We had to borrow the money to pay for this and at this point we uncovered an IVA littered with errors and mistakes.

Errors in the figures on the front sheet, terms and conditions which were no loger valid. It took the IP nearly 3 weeks to even understand how the figures had been calculated. During this time FJ maintained their figures were correct.

Our independent IP, drafted their findings and we forwarded these onto FJ for their opinions, needless to say their response was swift and after much discussion our settlement figure was drastically lower than their estimated outcome figure.

I requested that our case be immediately entered their complaints system - back in May 2014 - and all I can say - a couple of acknowledge letters since then and thats all. I made the decision then to forward my complaint to the IP Governing body and shall we say the response has been much better.
We still owe £600 for the advice we had to get, something which we shall take through the small claims court if we have to, as we should have never had to pay this in the 1st place.

All I can say is be really thorough with your application, check it and check it again, if you can get someone to check it for you, or see someone face to face, so you can ensure that all the details are correct.

Feel free to ask me anything about my situation as I would like to help in anyway I can. We are now debt free and trying to rebuild our credit rating.

[sponge]

Who was the independent IP, no reason just curious?

[KTC14]

We used a company in Bristol - they were brilliant

[welshwiz]

HI KTC

Keep us posted on what happens IP Governing body,

[Sarah Jolly]

Dear KTC14

We are sorry you are unhappy with the service you received from us.

Whilst there are always two sides to every story, we would prefer to set out the facts in response to your formal complaint.

Thank you

[KTC14]

Thing is Sarah I have had no response to my complaint with you apart from the token 6 week letter, complaint has been in since we completed in May.

[Ravgodbold]

I also feel that we was cornered in to taking a IVA out, we was on a debt managment plan and had the call! we was in a desperate situation at the time and i believe we have been led down a path that was avoidable with promises of being better off on the IVA.
We have 8 months left and i can honestly say the last 6 years have been hell. with no help from freeman jones no understanding and basically leaving us very little money to even live on, yes i know it is there job to get as much as they can but wow leaving us less money to live on than we would have if we was on the dole!

The wife and i earn good money but what we see from this is less than what we earnt when we was 17 and that was 16 years ago!

We was told that we would only need to pay back 30-40% we are near on 98% with fees from freeman jones we will have paid back more than the original debt.
Really think we were miss sold the IVA and that we would of been well clear if we had stuck to the debt plan and without a big black mark on our file and the ability to change mortgages with a much better rate, paying nearly 7% rate as we were unable to switch when our deal expired if we was still on the plan we would of got a better deal and that extra money would of been used to offset the debt but freeman jones totally unwilling to listen or help. i would advise anyone and everyone to keep clear of freeman jones as they really do like to bend you over.

[KTC14]

sorry to hear about your problems Rav, your experience sounds very familiar to ours, if you feel the need to raise a complaint then do so, I have complaints in with FJ and the governing body, it cost us money to get some professional advice, but well worth it as she broke everything down so we could understand what really had been done, and showed us where all the inconsistencies were, and to say we were shocked was an understatement. I hope everything works out for you, but if you want any help let me know

[Financial Wellness]

Dear Ravgodbold

I am one of the team here at Freeman Jones.

I was sorry to read that you aren't happy with the service you've had from Freeman Jones over the life of your IVA.

I would be happy to raise a complaint on your behalf so we can do a full review of the advice you received when you moved from your debt management plan, along with the level of payments you have made and so on.

It is worth saying that one of the benefits of an IVA is that interest and charges on your debts are frozen, so even if you pay back all or close to all the original debt, you are likely to have paid back less than you otherwise would. Any debt write-off in an IVA isn't guaranteed - you pay back what you can afford to pay back. We do appreciate (and I know that posters on the forum would agree) that it isn't easy living on an IVA budget. The various allowances for living costs are not set by us - there are clear industry guidelines and if we step outside them we increase the chances that creditors won't accept your IVA proposal.

Please do drop me an email to ian.williams@freemanjones.co.uk and I will raise a complaint for you so that you get a full explanation.

I hope this helps,



Ian

[KTC14]

maybe you could have a look at mine Ian!