Upfront Fees

[sueann]

Hi everyone I am new here and have an IVA in the process just waiting to finalise the details. I have a query on upfront fee's as I have been reading that some people have had no upfront fee's to pay, I don't quite understand why I have had to pay over £500.00 over the past couple of months. I called the helpline number above and was put through to someone and feel I was not given impartial advice with regards of who to use when it comes to different companies and fee's. I think this needs to be explained better as these 2 months would have enabled me to but some much needed emergency money aside whilst the IVA was going through. The helpline just put me through to a fee based company and I didn't know any better.

[sblack]

Hi,
The only money we paid upfront was the 1st months contribution to the IVA. We did not pay anything else upfront. Any fees are normally included in your monthly IVA payments.
As you say the couple of months leading upto the IVA could give you some valuable time to save for your contingency fund.

[plasticdaft]

Which company was suggested to you Sueann?? If you say who it is people will have a better idea of how to help you out.

[Cybus]

Personally I would never recommend a practitioner that charges you an upfront fee.

The only time I would suggest such a practitioner is if the firms own terms and conditions stated that those funds paid upfront would be refunded to you in the event that the proposals are not accepted by creditors.

Please do let us know the name of the firm that you have used as I suspect it is not an Insolvency Practitioner, but is someone who merely collects information and makes an uninformed decision on your behalf without giving proper advice

[kallis3]

We should have paid 1 months money over prior to our creditors meeting, but because our bank account has no cheque book or debit card we were unable to and made no payments until our standing order was set up.

[sueann]

When I rang the above number on this site I was put straight through to Thomas Charles, they charge £259.00pm for 2 months in charges I am due to pay the second in the next couple of days.

[Viki.W]

Hey sueann, I think Oliver from Thomas Charles is logged on so he'll post a reply for you, I'm sure.

I don't know anything about that number on the forum, sorry. Viki X

[animaleyes76]

I had to pay about £400 p/m for 2 months to them

I wish i had known i could have done this all direct to an IP..

That was my contigency down the pan.

I am very savvy etc re financial products etc but didnt know i wouildnt have to use a company like theirs.

I'm still VERY bitter regarding it if you hadn't noticed ;o)

[Skippy]

I paid £492 for 2 months, and to be honest I wish that I'd gone straight to an IP. The service was ok, but I would rather the £1k had gone into the IVA with hindsight.

Saying that, it doesn't really matter - my IVA failed and my creditors got nothing anyway!

[glen1971]

I also approached Thomas Charles before choosing to go with Melanie's team. They asked for the equivalent of 3 months Trust deed or IVA payments for their fee. I then found out that they act as an intermediary (or middle man) who liase between the IP company and us. I am not being too critical of them as i have read so many times on this forum that IP's hove been very hard to get hold of and Thomas Charles may be able to help with this. But i personally feel that if you are sensible there is no need to go with any companies which charge an upfront fee. It would have cost me around £2400.00 to go with TC - or as they market the fee as "just adding 3 more months on to your IVA/Trust Deed.

[cfnc]

We are with a local IP and didnot have to pay any upfront fees, just what our payment would be to effectively start the IVA early, but all these payments would have been refunded if our IVA was refused.

Hope you sort it out,

Kirsty

[animaleyes76]

That's i always tell people to go direct on this forum. I consider myself more "savvy" than most in finacial services etc so if i can be misled so can most people.

[sueann]

Thank you all, yes it was originally marketed to me as an additional 2 payments on my IVA and I think I have learnt a hard and expensive lesson, I would rather that money either be in contingency or gone towards my IVA in a way I feel like I have been taken advantage of. I really did think that ringing the advice line given I would have been given some impartial advice. Wish I had known that I could have gone straight to an IP I feel that I am just about to throw away £259.00 which is my second payment and I have only spoken to them a couple of times I had go all through everything again with my IP and alot of it was changed from what was discussed with TC, so infact I did not need TC at all. Nope I am not a happy bunny at all.

[animaleyes76]

They lost my paperwork with me 3 times and also never mentioned BR even though i asked re it. I couldn't have gone the BR options but they didn't even mention it b4 i stated it wasn't an option

£800 down the pan in my book (

I'm sure they do a great job for a lot of people as i have seen many positive reviews for them. I just feel let down

[Skippy]

Thay actually told me I didn't want to go BR! OK, I didn't want to (who does?!?) but it would have been nice to have had the options explained, especially as I had no assets that would be at risk.