www.iva.co.uk

Hi experts

I'm on my 6th year of my IVA. What can I do if my IVA Practitioner from Debt Free Derect contacts me and tell me that she has contacted Select Partnership to help me secure a loan and I should cooperate with them otherwise my IVA will fail. A few days later an employee from Select Partnership contact me and offered me a �15000 loan with repayment of 16 years (@ 18% interest, total �47.000). The problem is that the total repayment will be almost the same amount as my initial debt.

Can I insist on rather having a 12 months extension at the current repayment as agreed in the contract?

If my Debt Free Derect Practitioner decides to fail my IVA, can I appeal the decision and to whom can I lodge my appeal?

Hi and welcome,

Check your paperwork to see if there is anything in there about a secured loan.

Did you sign DFD's IVA Variation back in 2014 (or otherwise accept it by default, by not doing anything - lots of IVA companies do that).

If so, you may have been duped into allowing your IVA to be varied, to include the modern protocol terms.

Very comprehensive article on it here:

http://debtcamel.co.uk/dfd-iva-variation/

Might explain the number of DFD customers querying this point, as the company have arguably been a little under-hand.

What's the point of the iva if your going to be in just as much debt as when you started?
The completion of the iva is meant to be a fresh start.

Unfofrtunately that is the way it is going these days for home owners whether we like it or not.

Seems to me these days if no assets go bankrupt if you own a property with equity sell it and offer a full and final, take it or leave it, you are in a better position, with secured loans following a gruelling five years does the IVA still have any future

I have had the same issue with DFD. All original paperwork was remortgage only which we couldn't get.
We didn't sign the variation, and told DFD on one of our many calls we told them we didn't want the variation.
We have req the 12 month extension which they are requesting with creditors, but they are saying we are in breach. We are also 7 months into the 6th year now!
Waiting to hear back.

As far as I am aware, if you don't have that clause in your original paperwork and have not signed a variation, they can't make you take out a secured loan.

I personally am totally against the secured loan route, as I too believe you're in an IVA to come out the other side debt free, not the first thing you do when complete, take a loan!

However, the answer does lie in your proposal I'm afraid.

DFD have been bullying clients over this issue for quite some time, but cannot do anything unless you have, either willingly or unwittingly, signed up to the new terms with the DoA they send out.

The thing is is that they could just refuse to send you your CC.
It seems the devil was in the detail in the DoA they sent out in 2014.
From now on I would expect all the iva firms will have this clause put into there iva proposals.
The thing that gets me is that you just know that DFD will be getting a kick back from the loan company for referring "customers" to them, the customers who are in effect a captive audience who must take a loan from these legalised loan sharks.
And at 18% IR that is all that they are.
Even the company name leads you to believe that you will be DEBT FREE at end of it all.
My big criticism of Ivas is that they do leave room for exploitation like this of vulnerable people who don't have options.
Bankruptcy is a lot more clear cut.

I would still question this if it is not in your original paperwork now.

I would also disagree that BR is more clear cut - you stand to lose a lot more.

Speak to DFD about this and tell them that you haven't signed anything.

FYI even if it is in the proposals it might not necessarily state that you have to use Select...

Lisa raises a valid point. Whilst the answer lies in your proposal and any amendments, I truly hope that this can be challenged.