depression,stress,loss of income and iva

[oggler2001]

for 11 years now my wife and i have had to cope with our debts,being il-advised along the way by a couple of companies,whom i might add have made a significant amount of money out of our misfortunes.
companies whom have offered little or no help what so ever whenever our circumstances took a turn for the worst and our income reduced drastically.
so little surprise then that when i'm taken ill suffering with stress and depression caused no doubt by the constant worry of this frigin IVA failing,low and behold our IVA is transfered to another company (grant thornton),a little suspect some might say knowing how the other company operated with regards to complaints made against them.
so what happens now?,after all the other company were made fully aware of my circumstances and indeed promised to deal with it??....fat chance of that now aye.IVA due to end this october too,but who gives a monkeys knat?,they certainly didn't,they just happy they got away with over £4,000.00 in fees!!!
i reckon most of these so called debt management companies are probably the biggest crooks the planet as ever seen in disguise,and what a disguise aye?,perfect almost....companies offering those in the most need HELP.
trouble is from what i can see most are getting away with it scot free.
i mean,just how many have found themselves in my situation?,on the edge,knife in hand,waiting for that nudge before deciding enoughs enough lets end it all once and for all!!!.
i'm at that point right now!
already said my goodbyes to my wife and kids in my own way.......just waiting now,waiting for that nudge
felt i should just put a point across on here first,iva's aint for everyone?,read every single word on those documents and be happy with it before signing!!
it wasnt explained fully to us,it was all done through the post,we were duped and now stand to lose our home because of this.our debts were unsecured loan debts and a credit card but somehow along the way these companies have made thousands out of us and duped us into tying our home into the deal.when we first realised what we had got ourselves into and questioned this company i was LAUGHED AT!! and told to read stuff before i sign it!....if he was standing infront of me at that moment i would have killed the bastard!
so please please take note,in our experience they dont care about you not at all,they only care about money/profit,need i say more?

[kazzafunk]

Oggler - sorry to hear that your IVA hasn't worked out for you at all. It's true that they are not for everyone and that you need to read through everything with a fine toothed comb before signing.
Have you managed to speak with Grant Thornton yet? I have to say that the company I am going with do not seem to be that mercenary and the amount they are charging, in my view, is very fair for the work they have done. Maybe IVA processes have improved since you started yours? Please don't think about ending things though - I have experience of this and life is worth far more than that.

[kallis3]

Oggler, welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear that you have had such a rough ride with your IVA but the company you are with now are a good one and I am sure your IVA will finish on time.

Whilst there are some companies out there who are not of the best, the vast majority, especially those who are on www.iva.com.

This forum always stresses speaking to more than one company and making sure you know exactly what you are signing up to. You should always make sure that read proposals thoroughly and if you're not happy then you should say so.

Not all companies are out for themselves - some care about their clients.

As you are obviously unhappy with your IVA, there is nothing to stop you making a complaint about the service you have had.

[Broke of London]

Hi and welcome to the forum. You have done so well to get to your final year and should be proud that you have got to this point. Have you been asked to release equity from your property? This isn't the same as losing it. Grant Thornton are a very well respected firm and operate globally which is testament to their skill. Speak to them and ask them to advise you on what to do next. It is in their interests for you to complete successfully. Can you give us any details about this hurdle and I'm sure one of our professionals will be ableto help out. Xx

[Judo]

Hi Oggler.
Really sorry to hear that you seem to be having quite a rough time of things at the moment.
Although it might not seem like it, the end is in sight now for your IVA. Despite what you think, you have been transferred on to a very respected company and if you were to phone them and explain your issues I am sure they would do what they could to alleviate some of the pressure you are currently feeling.
As for the part about your home, did you have an equity clause in your IVA.?
Maybe you could come back and explain a little more about your situation so that some of our experts could try and help you through it a little.

[Grumple]

You've come so far now Oggler, don't give up now. Life is too precious to be thrown away over money, what would your family do without you? My family have had very dark times recently but there is always some hope out there.

Post further details, someone will be able to point you in the right direction. You are not alone.

[oggler2001]

thank you kazzafunk for the reply and i do understand what your saying,but enoughs enough you know?

thank you kallis3 also.
yes i am indeed unhappy with how we have been treated regarding our iva here are some examples of just what we've had to deal with...

annual reviews...
wages gone up due to pay rises,told to pay 50% into iva,queeried at first cause this was not explained to us initially.submitted an updated expenditure which showed increases swallowed up any extra income,they got back to us telling us we could afford to almost double our monthly payments to iva???,this was not the case! but agreed to increase by 2.5% to cover 50 50 rule.

wife becomes pregnant......
in 3rd year wife became pregnant with our son,i inform iva of impending drop in household income they told me,and i quote:'not to worry you are allowed to have children whilst in an iva,we dont expect you to terminate the pregnancy'...as if we b***** would on there say so anyhow!,frigin scumbags.every new financial statement submitted since then had been disregarded and we have been expected to continue our payments without any reduction.i refused and paid what we could afford until my wife returned to work,this they did not like and were constantly on our backs with letters and phone calls threatening to fail our iva.

4th year re-mortgage.....
again this was not explained to us initially and only found out about this requirement upon queerying about 50 50 rule.submitted written proof that we are unable to re-mortgage due to being in an iva plus the equity is not in our property only to be told that this was not good enough!???.

each and every time we questioned anything regarding our iva we were told to comply or it would fail!.

and then i became ill and have been off work now for 11 weeks but kept IVA informed and told not to worry they would deal with it,then low and behold......they been sold to grant thornton

to say i'm a lttle peeved i think would be an understatement

[oggler2001]

thanks to all with their replies,they are much appreciated.

[oggler2001]

with regards to grant thornton....i've researched all i can about them on the internet and they do come across as a more professional outfit,however they have not returned any of my calls as of yet.
so i emailed them a number of important documents and raised my concerns with them including an upto date financial statement reflecting our current situation which is not good,as we can no longer afford our iva payments due to being off sick.
as of yet they have not replied....i sent the email on 26th may

[kallis3]

Hi,

I think GT are still catching up with having taken over the BE portfolio so this might be why there is a delay, plus there has been the bank holiday weekend.

Keep pestering on the phone and with the emails.

[mummy1]

Hi. I dont post very much - but your story has touched and worried me. Please put any thoughts of ending it all out of your mind - think of those you would leave behind!Talk to someone close. My daughte is going through this iVA process and I'd like to think if she was ever in despair that she could turn to me, so there must be someone for you.
Who did you heve your IVA with? (just worried that it might the same as daughtes as everything is being done through the post for her as well, nothing face-to-face).
I REALLY hope things look up for you - it sounds like you're nearly there - October, 4 months.
Please post and say your OK

[kazzafunk]

It does sound as though what could go wrong has gone wrong for you. On the whole I believe that IVA's do work for many people. I am lucky as I do not own my own home nor do we have children (don't ask me to list the pets though!!).
Now, the only thing I can suggest is to bullet point all the problems you have had in an email to GT and ask them to answer asap as it is affecting your health. Your health is the most important thing. I know you feel you have wasted 4 years but the pressure of paying creditors would probably have been worse?
The fees are built into payments which in effect mean your creditors get less so I don't think you should upset yourself about the loss of the amount paid in fees.
I am concerned you did not know about the 50/50 rule nor the remortgage. Was it not in the initial paperwork? If not, then you may have grounds for complaint.
You say you have no equity. Can you get proof of this for GT? That would strengthen your case.
Hopefully someone else can help further as my suggestions may not make you feel any better!!
But family and health first please.

[oggler2001]

mummy1.please please make sure your daughter reads and most of all understands the terms and conditions of her iva agreement,i can not stress this enough!.if she isnt happy with any of it then seek advice!.
we had already been 6 years in debt management,struggling to find £318 a month,when an iva solution was offered to us.we jumped at the chance because our payments went down to £210 a month which at the time was a godsend,little did we know.
all done through the post and not explained to us at all really other than after 5 years its all over as long as we continued with the monthly payments,of which at the time we were sure we could do after paying so much for so long into debt management.
however,after the way we have been treated and having this round our necks for almost 11 years i myself have reached breaking point.
i know its almost over for us come october,but we now find ourselves £1,250.00 a month short in our income with no sign as to when i can return to work,feeling the way i feel.....all i can see now is after everything we are going to lose EVERYTHING
at the moment mummy1 i'm fine and sure my wife will keep me as sane as can be,but she's been through the mill too and i feel i should be there for her also......but its difficult you know?

[oggler2001]

understood kazzafunk,thank you.

[kazzafunk]

oggler - we do all understand. May I be cheeky and ask if you have told your GP about how you are feeling? I am on medication and also have got some couselling through work and although sceptical the sessions are really helping me. Sorry if you are offended by me asking.