Recommend a Friend!

[e.h]

Hi

Just wanted to share this one with you all.

I received a marketing pitch from my IVA company today - apparently, if you recommend a friend, you will get £150! Presumably, once your friend has signed up for an IVA or DMP, the IVA company will take the £150 as extra income?!!!!!

I am not very happy with my IVA company at the moment, they are extremely rude and aggressive when you talk to them about anything and me and my husband are about to write to them with a complaint about their attitude towards us now that we are locked into an IVA for nearly 4 more years.

On this marketing pitch, the first paragraphs says:

"What would you tell a friend ... Would you tell them about our excellent customer service, our professional financial advice and our helpful staff?"

I had to laugh!

Liz

[MelanieGiles]

That is absolutely hideous. Can you tell us which company you are with as these sort of practices ought to be reported to the relevant regulatory bodies. And some people wonder why my profession has a bad name at the moment.

[e.h]

Hi Melanie

I have not qualms about telling you who they are - Blair Endersby! I have to say I was totally gobsmacked when I opened the letter, especially given that we are about to lodge a complaint with them about their behaviour. I feel like sending it back to them, annotating it with my own comments on their service!

Regards

Liz

[MelanieGiles]

Thank you for the information - I guess that desperate times lead to desperate measures, but I am saddened to see this sort of practice in my industry.

[emma_t]

That's distusting to target you in this way. Sounds like they ought to concentrate on the clients they have and keeping them happy before touting for new ones in this way!

I was shocked this morning reading the through the newspaper and there is a company advertising this pitch:

'Can't afford your debt? Heres the way out that the banks don't want you to know about...'
If you owe more than £15,000 or more and can't go on paying debt you can't afford, I've got good news.. there's a legal way out of debt that the banks and credit card companies hate - all you have to do is call or go online and find out if your debt rating qualifies. Andif you don't own your own home or have very little money tied up in it your a dead cert to qualify. This FREE special system is rubber stamped by the government...

Personally think this is a bit near the mark...

[hallway]

I too received one of these letters today and even though up to now I have had no problems with them I was shocked.

[emma_t]

Just can't believe that some companies are so flippant in the way they get clients and advertise iva's , it makes it all sound so rosey and easy and everyone who has been through it/going through it knows how hard it is...makes me mad[:(!]

[e.h]

Makes me very cross too Emma.

If only I had discovered this wonderful Forum and the experts on it before we entered into our IVA, there is absolutely no way we would have gone with BE and there is not a chance on earth that I would recommend them to a friend! I don't think they would be my friend for very long after BE got their hooks into them! I just find their "customer care" appalling. They are so rude and aggressive and make you feel so inferior - as if we all didn't feel bad enough to find ourselves in the the position of needing to enter into an IVA! It was all roses up until the creditors meeting at which our IVA was accepted and then, well - don't get me started!

Liz

[Adam Davies]

Hi
What's next.......buy one get one free ??
This type of marketing demeans an IVA and the highly qualified IPs that supervise them.
I really do think that high quality IPs with high quality service levels will flourish over the next year or two while high volume practices will continue to struggle as they look for ways to meet the numbers that they need to stay afloat
Regards

[emma_t]

Lets hope so Andy[:)]

[gavin]

but iva are free