My mother and father lasy year ended in alot of debt after my father was made redundant, he owed money on mortgages loans and credit cards 70'000 total,he had always had a fantastic job but had no savings,he contacted grant Thornton after seeing a advert and was persuaded to go into a joint iva with my mum who only had about 1000 debt total which was a storecard, a rep met them and they signed the paperwork alot of which my mother didnt understand, shortly after they sold their house well below the market value and walked away with about 5000 most of which was used to pay bills etc, a month later my dad died suddenly of a heart attack leaving mum penniless and homeless, she has since found a flat through the council and is living on her pension, grant Thornton are now saying she is completely liable for all of the debt and must continue paying every month, we have wrote a letter explaining and sent my dads death certificate and their response...they wrote a letter to my dead father demanding a detailed income and expenditure!!! We haven't a clue what to do mum is struggling to maintain her payments do you have any advice? Mum is 63 now and it is worrying her so badly and affecting her health.
Was some of the debt joint ? if so your mum is liable, however if she can't afford the payments and has no assets she should consider bankruptcy
Regards
Oh, my god - that is hideous! We have an IVA with them and they are wanting me to complete an I & E form now - before my husband has even managed to get another job! As I am the only one earning, that does not appear to be good enough for them, but that is tough. I am seriously considering swapping to another IVA provider. Can I do this?
Incidentally, my husband's taxi broke down (due to an engine and injector problem) on 3/2 and it costs in the region of £1500 to repair - neither of us have that and we have asked family and friends for assistance. My husband has had to sign on since (which is so disheartening for him, for us) and I am having to juggle whatever money we do have from my part-time earnings, current Tax Credits and CHB.
Hayley -- I am afraid it is nigh on impossible to change IVA provider, which would require substantial grounds amounting to malpractice and the involvement of the Court.
Kerry, as Andy says, your mum would still be liable for any joint debts. Those solely in your fathers name should terminate.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Kerry welcome to the forum ..sorry to hear of the circumstances that are causing distress to your mum. If the debts were in joint names then she will be liable for them.
As Andy says consideration should be given to bankruptcy as an option .... It would put an end to the issue and although your mum would have this recorded against her on her credit file alongside the IVA it would bring closure and with her limited income any monthly payment required would probably be far less than now.
Let us know how she gets on
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
Given the sensitivity of the issues being recounted in this post, I do think that someone senior in GT if not the IP themselves needs to deal with this. If Kerry is able to confirm the position on joint debts - and if there are no joint debts I cannot for the life of me see why her Mum entered into an IVA in the first place for such a low level of personal debt - then I am happy to escalate this via my usual contacts at GT.
Kerry.82 - Could you please email me at ivacustomerservices@uk.gt.com with "IVA Forum" in the subject line and I will ensure your mum's case is reviewed immediately.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Kind Regards
Karol
