IVA Introductory companies - good or bad??

[frequentflyer]

Now that my IVA has been accepted and I have read a lot of posts on the forum, I begin to wonder if I have been 'had over' somewhat....Specifically, I see constant references on here that IP's do not charge 'up front fees'..that some companies that do deduct these payments from your iva repayment etc etc...IVA introductory companies, however, seem to do this as standard, I was charged around £1000 up front by the company I went with and now I am starting to have concerns...apart from giving me initial advice and working out a basic spreadsheet of income & expenditure they did not really do very much for my £1000 before they passed the case on to another company who dealt with my proposal up to the creditors meeting. The IP fees are still being charged at around £7000 from the IVA and I am certainly not having my £1000 deducted from my iva repayments.....so Im curious, is this industry practice, is it legal, and have I been ripped off??? More to the point should there not be tighter controls on this practice persuading people in debt situations to go direct to an IP rather than such companies?

[Adam Davies]

Hi
I think that quite a bit of work is done prior to you being passed onto an actual IP.
There are over 385 practices licensed to propose IVAs and knowing which one to go to is a difficult choice.Using an introducer,if bona fide,can be a big help.
Your IVA is up and running,good news and money well spent.
Regards


Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson and Website Manager

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

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