This is a guest post by Peter Sargent, an Insolvency Practitioner and Consultant at BHP Clough Corporate Solutions. He is a member of the IPA’s Membership & Authorisation Committee and former president of R3. The failure of Varden Nuttall (and its holding company), a middle ground IVA bulk provider has brought into sharp relief the current system of Insolvency Practitioner (IP) … [Read more...]
Debt news and policy
Debt Camel articles on what's changing - and what ought to change - in the world of personal debt in Britain.
If you are interested in a specific area, look at: High cost credit news & policy and Insolvency news & policy.
The 2016 IVA Protocol – what has changed?
In June the new 2016 IVA Protocol was published. It would have be helpful if the Standing Committee had issued a guide to the changes from the 2014 Protocol, but they haven't, so this article looks at the significant changes, ignoring routine updating (such as replacing OFT by FCA) and some which seem to me to be very minor. My thanks to Michelle Butler who wrote about the changes earlier this … [Read more...]
Interest only mortgages and debt advice
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who regulates the mortgage lenders, issued an update in 2018 saying they are still concerned about the number of interest-only mortgages customers will not be able to repay at the end. It said: Since 2013 good progress has been made in reducing the number of people with interest-only mortgages. However, we are very concerned that a significant number of … [Read more...]
Wonga refunds – what happened before administration
This page covered the complaints and refunds process before Wonga went under on 30 August. Events in August 2018 August 4 - Wonga forced to ask investors for £10million in funding as the cost of affordability complaints increases. 26 August - news reports that Wonga was in trouble. Sky News reported that: Directors of the payday lender Wonga could appoint Grant Thornton as the … [Read more...]
Varden Nuttall – what happened
Varden Nuttall, a mid-size Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) firm, was placed into administration on 24 March 2016. The administrators discovered that £9million was missing from the client account and evidence of fraudulent practices by Philip Nuttall, one of the insolvency practitioners and a director of Varden Nuttall Limited, In October 2018, Philip Nuttall was found to be in … [Read more...]
Why the FCA should ban the Compass debt advice model
In March 2016, the clients of Compass Debt Counsellors found out their debt management firm had gone into administration. Many people had thousands of pounds being held by Compass and may not get this money back. In This Compass points to Debt Misery, Legal Beagles points out: "This form of daylight robbery is hugely rewarding because no one ever seems to go to prison for such crime. If I … [Read more...]
IVAs – do you have to get a secured loan – a case story
A reader asked this in a comment, but it needs a whole article to tell the story properly: "We are currently 4.5 years into an IVA, we have got to raise £15,000 through remortgage. We have been told from the start to not worry as there is little to no chance of us being offered it, however we have been offered a £15,000 loan over 15 years and paying back £45,000. I can’t believe this is an … [Read more...]
Swift Sterling & Pounds Till Payday – refunds and complaints
Before December 2015 Swift Sterling, Pounds Till Payday and My Money Partner were trading names of Northway Financial Corporation Limited, a Maltese company. In 2016 these brand names were bought by a UK company called MMP which went into administration in December 2019. When were your loans? This affects who to complain to If your loans were before December 2015 Then you need to complain to … [Read more...]
Creditfix’s proposed PJG IVA variation (2014)
In October 2014, some people who had IVAs with PJG Recovery had their cases transferred to Creditfix. The people who have been transferred were told that nothing else would change in their IVA. Two months on in December 2014 however, they are being asked to agree to a variation in the terms of their IVA, including increasing the fees that Creditfix charge. Some people have expressed unhappiness … [Read more...]
New Insolvency Service guidelines on pensions
On 26 March 2015, the Insolvency Service published Undrawn pension entitlements: Summary of guidance for insolvency practitioners and debt advisors. With "pensions freedom" coming into force on 6th April 2015, the Insolvency Service's aim was to clarify the murky situation around bankruptcy and pensions. Further clarification then came with the Guidance Issued to Receivers and Guidance Issued to … [Read more...]