www.iva.co.uk

long ago in 2005 i needed help with my growing debt! in 2006 i contacted a debt managment company called gregory pennington, they assisted me as all this was very new, and set a payment plan up for £200 per month, after paying this amount every month till nov 2010 i realized that my debt wasn't actually coming down so i started to do some reserch and found out about iva's, i contacted gregory pennington who then decided to tell me that they indded had a sister company that delt with them called freeman jones- i asked why they had never offered me this option before as with my debt's of over £23,000 it would of took some 17 years to repay!!!!!!!!My reply 'we didnt think you'd be wanted to be classed as insolvent'. I was absolultley mortified. Anyway after a few choice words with him he put me through to freeman jones who went through everything with me, it was a sole IVA, i have no assetts work part time and have 2 kids (1 who was 18 at the time and in college so got benefits for her i.e child tax credits/c benefit).

I have been with freeman jone since dec 2010 and plodding along niceley till september 2011 when the conservatives decided to cut my daughter's E.M.A allowance, so we had to start forking out for bus passes and dinner money, even money for equptment and spends- i told freeman jones i was despperatley struggling to maintain my payments and completed income and exp and the did nothing -they told me they could try for a variation meeting but it was likley that it would be unsucsessfull and my iva would fail-- quite frankly they scared the sh1t out of me!!! And so i continued to pay my £200 monthly picking up overtime where i could. by may 2012 i was not able to get any overtime at work and the car broke down, and i found myself taking more credit out to make ends meet a payday loan here a payday loan there, 2 catalogues and a credit card, it was escalating again...... I told freeman jones that i had been forced to take out credit as my situation was unbelievable our outgoings were more than my incomings- you know what they said to me? ' actually miss bridge your last 6 wage slips show an increase in earning's you owe us a furthur £390 for the last 6 months' i put the phone down as i couldnt believe what she was saying..... in august this year child tax creds and child benefit ceased for my older daughter we also lost £48.00 a week in housing and council tax benefit, and i definatley had/have no way of paying my iva, it is now in breech as i missed more than 4 payments, although they havnt even had the decentcy to contact me to say i'm in breech, only a letter yesterday to say i'm due a review..... my mum is actually giving me the money( £700) to declare myself bankrupt on friday morning, i have made the appointment at the court, made 3 copies of all my papers and have my last 3 wage slips, plus prrof of rent.
do i need to take anything else to court with me?
I am so very scared and very nervous- what is really ironic is that if gregory pennington had offered me the iva in the first place it would have been done and dusted by now! instead they were greedy and just bled me dry for their monthly fee, and freeman jones are just as bad, i can not belive the way i have been treated by this company, do they have someone who regulates them? i have kept copies of lettres and emails i have sent to them in the past asking for help.... i know this is a long winded explanation but thankyou for taking the time to read it, all the best emma.

I have replied on your other post which looks like a duplicate x

From what you are saying Emma - it does sound like bankruptcy is the best option for you at present. If you feel that you have a complaint you would like investigated, about the advice you have recieved, your IP firm - as a member of DEMSA - will have an internal complaimts policy which you should go through in the first instance.

Hi emmajb120. Welcome to the forum. Just wanted to wish you well tomorrow. Sounds like the last 7 years it's been a long hard slog for you. You did your utmost to deal with your debt, but as Mel says, it sounds like this is the best way forward now. Other posters have been through bankruptcy, and I'm sure they'll be along to help you. Please let us know how it goes. x

Hi emmajb120,

I was extremely concerned to read your post and we’d like to discuss this with you. We have been trying to contact you but, unfortunately, we have not been able to get hold of you.

Please give my colleague Steve Grogan a call on 0845 056 6620 (this is his direct line) or drop him an email (Steven.Grogan@freemanjones.com) to let him know when it would be convenient for him to call you.

Many thanks,

hello all, well i presented myself at court to delare myself bankrupt on 5/10/12, unfortunatley they couldn't do it as i needed a letter from freeman jones to say that my IVA has failed, i called them the same day and put it in writing and i am still waiting for the letter today 14/10/12- absolutley shocking.

Steven thanks for the direct number and email address i will email him now as i am not keen on phoning i would rather i had a record. Although i am not entirley sure how he could help.

So just to recap i will have to make a new appointment at court once my failed latter arrives from freeman jones. I just want all this over and done with it has made me feel so ill the past couple of months debt is the one thing keeping me awake at night!
emma

Emma I hope you get things sorted out and begin to sleep at night very soon. Best wishes
Oscar

Hi Emma

Hopefully the letter will arrive very soon, you can then move on and look forward to the future x

Let us know how you get on

Fingers crossed that you can get this sorted soon Emma. Keep us informed.

This post makes me more angry than the poster. 7 years has passed and an iva could have come and be over with and credit file restored for the person.
How often do we hear that people are on dmp for donkeys years before been urged to go on an iva and with the debt been higher due to FEES and INTEREST. If it got lower then fair enough the dmp did the trick.Payplan and a certain CCCS have does this for debtors.
Going bankrupt isn't an easy option.People cannot get certain jobs till discharged. This is one br case that needn't be.

Of course there is two sides to a story....

DMPs can be the best way for lots of people to clear their debts and many companies are able to get charges and interest stopped to help shorten the term. But it is a shame Gregory Pennington took it upon themselves to decide what would be in their client's best interest!!

Good luck for the BR - you deserve a fresh start after all this time!

I do still think that there may be some way the current IVA can be saved, and would urge you to make that call to Freeman Jones to see what they can suggest for you.

I hope it's sorted for you as soon as and that you can move forward in whichever way you choose. x