‘IVA Council’ Continues To Contact People In IVAs

The IVA Council (IVAC), who in October last year was forced to remove logos similar to the official Insolvency Service logos from its website, still appear to be actively sending letters to people in IVA arrangements, as recent comments on Payplan’s previous article ‘IVA Council’ makes false claims suggest.

Insolvency Service Statement

The Insolvency Service has recently stated the following on their website:

“The Insolvency Service would like to make it clear that we are in no way associated with an organisation called the IVA Council.

IVAs are a flexible and effective means of dealing with debt. For debtors they provide protection from creditors, debt forgiveness, flexibility in terms of what assets are included, and none of the restrictions, which apply in bankruptcy. For creditors they provide a better return than could be obtained in bankruptcy.

IVAs allow debtors to repay their creditors that which they can reasonably afford and resolve their financial problems, and are supervised by licensed and regulated insolvency professionals.
The principal statutory alternative to an IVA is bankruptcy. Bankruptcy should always be the last resort as the debtor will lose control of their assets and will be subject to bankruptcy restrictions, potentially up to 15 years.

Consequently The Insolvency Service does not condone any implication that people in IVAs should stop paying and enter bankruptcy. If you have had any communication from the IVA Council or other third parties suggesting that you stop making payments under your IVA you should discuss this with the supervisor of the IVA and seek advice from professional, qualified advisers before taking any action.”

As the Insolvency Service make clear, anybody who receives a letter from the IVA Council or for anybody who is struggling to meet their monthly payments in an IVA, they should seek immediate advice from their IVA Supervisor, who should be more than eager to assist.

IVA Council – Original Concerns

Below are some of the original concerns about the IVA Council:

There was NO ‘Consumer Credit Licence’ number evident. You need this to be able to give debt advice, according to the requirements set out by the Office of Fair Trading

There were NO ‘Limited Company’ (Ltd) details, registration number or company address which is a mandatory requirement on all emails and letters from any Ltd company

They used the logo of IP trade body R3 in the past, which it NEVER had permission to do.

They offered NO ‘Data Protection’ registration details which is necessary for a business that will be recording data.

Credit Today published that ‘numerous attempts’ to contact IVAC had been unsuccessful (25 October 2007). Jonathan Baker, The IVA Council’s (IVAC) auditor later told Credit Today that the IVAC had been foolish by advising recipients of their letter to stop making payments into their IVA arrangements.

How to Get Free Bankruptcy Advice

If you are in an IVA arrangement and are being encouraged to petition for bankruptcy from a third party, again, contact your IVA Supervisor immediately.

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO PAY SOMEONE ELSE TO PETITION FOR YOUR BANKRUPTCY

Payplan believe that all people struggling with debt should have access to free debt advice and that they should be made aware of the best debt solutions available to them. That is why Payplan provide free debt management plans, IVAs with no up front fees, and free debt and bankruptcy advice.

Call Payplan on 0800 280 2816 or contact their advisers online for free and ethical debt advice within 24 hours.

Written by on April 21st, 2008

Filed Under Debt News | Trackback | 6 Comments

6 Responses to “‘IVA Council’ Continues To Contact People In IVAs”

Caryl says

Hi, the IVA Council are very much still actively contacting people with IVA’s – I received my letter from them today! I am glad i bothered to spend time looking into them first as I have enough financial problems as it is!

April 22, 2008 at 4:54 pm

lesley says

hi!i also have just received a letter today from the iva council(16th may 2008),i thought it was something offical!good job i checked your website!

May 16, 2008 at 6:25 pm

Thomas says

I received a letter from the IVA Council and they rang me on 27 May 2008, saying they could get my money back through the courts because the IVA is illegal is this true?

May 27, 2008 at 10:32 pm

Paul says

Hi Thomas

This is the standard format that the so called ‘IVA Council’ appear to be using – if you indeed have any problems with your IVA, you should firstly contact your Insolvency Practitioner. If you are still unhappy, then contact the Insolvency Service who can advice you further.

The ‘IVA Council’ have probably contacted you because you were on a list of people in IVAs that is available as public information.

Hope this helps

Paul

May 28, 2008 at 9:59 am