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Warning sounded over rogue IVA company
Monday 1st February 2010Debt experts have warned that a rogue firm is contacting people who have taken out an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) to suggest that they can stop making payments.
As reported by www.credittoday.co.uk, the company – which goes by the name the IVA Review Board (IRB) and also calls itself the Department for Personal Insolvency Review and Assessment – has received repeated warnings from the OFT about its conduct.
In December, the OFT was able to revoke the licence from the firm’s parent company, INTL Marketing, however as the firm has launched an appeal it will hold a licence until the case is settled.
Experts have warned that if debtors take heed of IRB’s advice, it could result in them having their IVAs terminated.
In 2008, another dubious firm, the IVA Council, also become infamous for writing letters to IVA debtors saying that they had been mis-sold the arrangements and should stop paying. The firm was later banned and fined.
Melanie Giles, insolvency expert and director at JonesGiles, has blamed the Insolvency Service for putting records of people in IVAs online for the rise of unscrupulous companies such as IRB.
“Whilst the Insolvency Service insists that the Individual Insolvency Register remains accessible to the general public on line - thus disclosing personal data such as names, addresses and dates of birth of persons who have chosen to repay their debts via an Individual Voluntary Arrangement - companies like this will continue to bombard persons in perfectly workable insolvency solutions with promises of the grass being greener on the bankruptcy side.” She said.
“This is generally accompanied with a bill of around £1,000 for assistance in completing a relatively simple set of forms which are no more complex than applying for JSA or housing benefit.”
Kevin Still, director at debt solutions provider EuroDebt, added: “These types of companies can cause all sorts of consumer detriment and put at risk the success of their debt solution. It is encouraging that the industry and the regulators are collaborating to stamp out these types of practices and alerting consumers to the potential risks of acting upon this type of irresponsible correspondence.”
Ms Giles concluded: “Whilst most persons in IVAs have not obtained them via mis-selling – as if often claimed by the so called ‘bankruptcy assist’ industry – unfortunately some are easily led away from the safety of a sound financial solution without realising that the grass is rarely greener on the other side! I fully commend the steps being taken by the Office of Fair Trading to stamp out these practices.”
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