IVA Review: PDD on IVA Advice Company (15937 views)

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Winner : Gold Review

Review of: IVA Advice Company

Review date: 12 September 2007

Insolvency Practitioner who handled case: Melanie Giles

I proceeded as far along as: Accepted IVA

The solution I opted for in the end: IVA

Speed of response

No of days to make a decision after I spoke to IVA company: 4 days

Weeks to IVA proposal after decision made: 8 weeks

Weeks to IVA accepted/rejected after decision made: 11 weeks


IVA Company Ratings
Their debt solutions expertise:	10 out of 10
Their customer service:	6 out of 10
Their speed of response:	7 out of 10
Overall Company Rating:	9 out of 10

Insolvency Practitioner Ratings
The quality of IVA proposal:	10 out of 10
Overall Insolvency Practitioner Rating:	10 out of 10

My circumstances:

A couple living in the south-east - £230,000 unsecured debt, built up whilst attempting to create a business. We had sold our house so that we could pay out creditors in the best way that we were able, but had no residual income to offer after minimal monthly expenditure. Lump sum of £76,000 was offered to creditors (25) in full and final settlement (via an IVA). Not all debt solutions were discussed with this company as we went to them specifically for an IVA solution (and had looked at other solutions earlier in the process with other advisors).

My interaction with the company:

Another firm had recommend an IVA for myself and bankruptcy for my wife, as the equity in the house was in my name only. Through looking for a second opinion, via the IVA forum (on www.iva.co.uk), Melanie stated that my wife would have a claim to some of the equity and therefore an IVA (linked?) for each of us should be possible. This approach of looking for a better way of dealing with the problem was the deciding factor to go with IVA Advice Bureau.

Why I gave the ratings I did:

I rated them 10 out of 10 as their debt expertise meant that my wife did not have to go bankrupt. They gave the impression of knowing what was likely to be accepted by creditors (which was subsequently borne out). The ratings of 6/10 and 7/10 for customer service and speed of response came from follow up conversations when I wondered what was going on with drafting the proposal. We had provided all the information that was required within about 3 days of working with the IVA Bureau, but there was very little feedback in the 8 weeks, other than being contacted by a couple of people who when contacted again had gone off on long term sick leave (often a problem with stress or a firm that is in the middle of a re-structure - which doesnt inspire confidence with customers!!). I would have given them a higher rating on these two items if we had been contacted with what they had to achieve and estimated timescales - especially as our information was largely complete in the first week of the process. I didnt contact them often, but after 6 weeks of wondering what was going on (particularly after one staff member told me the draft IVA proposal would be in front of Melanie within a couple of days in week 3), I was given the distinct feeling of being brushed off and of being a nuisance - an estimate and an indication of timescales would have prevented this.

One thing they did - which really impressed me:

Approval of both IVAs. Sarah spent a week negotiating with creditors to get the necessary 75%+ votes. There were some difficult creditors who would have made approval difficult and possibly protracted. It was through Sarah and Melanies knowledge of the industry and through key contacts that meant our IVAs were successful.

One thing they did - which I felt could be improved:

See above, under the explanation of the ratings - customer service.

Other points

Our IVAs were approved, at a dividend of about 29 - 30p in the £. These were lump sum IVAs and as soon as all amounts are agreed with the creditors and the dividend is paid the IVA will be fulfilled. What have we learnt? - no more credit cards, personal loans, etc.!!! We will be helping our children to understand the risks of credit and its pitfalls.

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Free advice/consultation from an IVA Firm

Was it impartial? Did they have clear expertise?

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IVAs in progress

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Quality?	Genuine?	Date
3 out of 5	3 out of 5	25 February 2013
Comment: Gosh, I wish I would have had that ifnormation earlier!

Quality?	Genuine?	Date
4 out of 5	4 out of 5	14 November 2007
Comment: my husband and I had similar dealings with the same company and we would give the same comments customer service needs to be looked at.

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