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Hi,

I am new to this forum but I am so unhappy and really need some advice really.

I feel I have been taken advantage of and want to know my options.

I am 26 years of age now and isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing! I got into debt with loans, credit cards, store cards and just the circumstances I was in at the time. Being a teenage you think that its ok, I’ll be able to pay it back.

I buried my head in the sand for months and tried to ignore their phone calls, it was like a living hell. I received a letter from a Debt Management Company saying they could help me, get my payments down and stop my creditor from hassling me.

So I contacted them and they said they could help. I hadn’t even realised that I owed nearly £18,000. So from March 2004 I started to pay £315 a month and out of that money I paid £45 to Debt Management Company. I received statements each month of what I was paying and I had no-more phone calls.

So in April 2005, I received a call from the person I normally dealt with at DMC, where she mentioned to me that there were other options I could take to get the debt paid off quicker and stop legal action as I was still paying interest on the debt. I felt like crying I thought they had frozen the interest. I was told I would receive a letter in the post about setting up a formally structured arrangement between me and my creditors. The letter stated that setting up and IVA is best option and then listed a number of items.

From July 2005 I met up with a representative and went through my debts, and I did ask if I would be able to get a mortgage and I was told ‘yes’. I don’t believe I was told half of the things that I have now read on the internet. I received the documents to sign and I didn’t read it through.

I started paying £248 and I had a car on hirer purchase so when that finished around June 2006 my payments went up to £360, which I am currently paying and I have never missed a payment.

I am renting with my partner and now we really want to get I own home, but of course no-one would touch you with an IVA. So he wanted to do it on his own and help me in the process. So I requested from my IP the full amount I need to pay off that he wants to left to pay.

I then realised that the last 2 years of paying my debt off have been a waste of time, as I found out that I have to fees of £4600. I found out that the contract is legally binding and I had basically been taken advantage of me if I had stayed with the DMC, I would have almost been out of debt now. The long term affects that an IVA have is just cannot be put into words. I have been told that I should right a letter of complaint but it seems the IP has all the power here.

Has anyone got any advice for me, or who I should speak too.

Thanks

Hi there and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that you are feeling so sad, but my motto is that a problem shared is a problem solved!

My personal view, and of course I am just one of the experts on the forum, is that if you are in a Debt Management Plan which is working, with creditors who are sitting back and content to recieve your payments, and with the relatively low level of debts you had, then it may have been better to stay as you were.

I cannot comment on the way you were converted from a DMP to and IVA, but I imagine the debt management company gave you the choice of staying put or changing? Or did you feel pushed into accepting something which you did not really understand?

If you feel that you have been badly advised to your detriment, you can file a complaint with your IP's regulatory body, but will need to submit evidence of the paperwork that you signed to back up any claim.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Hi unhappychic,
Firstly you can get a mortgage and quite easily if you have paid Fully your last 6 IVA payments.
The deposit may take a little saving but some companies do a gift of 5% to help first time buyers.
As for being taken advantage of im'e not sure about that.
The IVA route is a hard one im'e in one also, IP's have to look at getting creditors money back that's how it is.
Being 26 gives you lots of time to overcome this.
What is the exact amount you have as you have only put the fees down?
Rgards
Adrian

Hi,

The DMC made it sound like the best option for me to keep the creditors at bay so to speak. I had always said I wanted to pay the debt off it was never option not too. I just feel that this is not the was not the best option for me. I feel the IVA is intrusive, and it is a really hard route to take.

You are told that any extra money you get you have to tell them so the extra money you may think you have has now gone to your creditors.

I owe £13,000 and it is not just hard for me but my partner has to make sure that I have no ties to him, or he will be effected as well. I have kept all documentation.

Do you know what companies do a gift of 5% with someoone who has an IVA?

Adrian how long have you been in an IVA?

I have been told that companies wont touch IVA's and if they do there will offer me a really high rate. I think 1 company said they would give me a rate of 7.9% which is far too high.

Thanks for your comments

One of my clients just got 6.5% in a mortgage arranged by Tony Parsons, who posts on the forum as Welshboy - and they are already in an IVA.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Hi unhappychic,
I have been in an IVA for 3 years.
Most builders will gift 5% deposit on mew builds.
Some companies are wary of builders deposits but there are still many lenders who can find you good deals.
The rate depends on individual circumstances and criteria of each company.
Post me some details and I will tell you the best lender and how to go about it.

Regards
Adrian