The reason you were perhaps not advised about the VAT problem - is that it was sprung on IPs as a great suprise and we have had to completely restructure our businesses around the changes. Even now there are issues which are yet to be resolved, and most of us are doing our best to get to the bottom of this, get our claims paid and draw a line under the whole sorry affair!
I don't see that it will take the banks long to make their decisions as to whether they are going to pay out on PPI claims. The claim is either valid or not - and given that they have set aside pots of money to deal with this, it is in no-one's interest to string out the matter for the sake of it. Many claims have already been paid, and hopefully the VAT claims will soon be sorted as well - HMRC have promised me that we will have ours next week - but it was actually September when this was submitted.
Please all of you stop beating up your IPs. We would rather not have to deal with any of this, but things have been laid at our doors and we have a duty to our clients and the creditors to deal with them in the best way we see fit. I am sure most firms are trying their best to prioritise their case closures in the meantime.
I know it's frustrating for people at present but some of us are reiterating that it isn't the IP's fault.
OK - some are taking longer than others to close, however we don't know their case numbers versus no of staff.
I appreciate we had it easy as McCambridge Duffy decided it was not financially viable to reclaim the vat, however there is no point in some posters keeping on posting in the negative to these issues.
As you say Mel, this was sprung on you all and in a years time it will be the norm and both PPI and vat will be incorporated in your normal IVA procedures.
We should now just concentrate on explaining the process and the reason why there are delays - I would hate to see negativity (and I really do understand the frustration) deter someone reading the posts from seeking help with their debt problem.
