The Review of the monitoring and regulation of insolvency practitioners that was published by the Insolvency Service last week found evidence of many of the problems in Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs) that I and other free-sector debt advisers have been talking about for several years. Although it is often not specific about what has to be done, the report is clear that change has to … [Read more...]
Insolvency News & Policy articles
Here are all the Debt Camel articles about what is new and changing in bankruptcy, DROs and IVAs. They cover everything from news about IVA firms to statistics and regulatory changes from the Insolvency Service. These articles are mainly of interest to debt specialists.
If you want practical advice on choosing between the different insolvency options, or about what happens when you have gone bankrupt or are in a DRO or IVA look at the following:
2017 Insolvency Statistics – the real story
On 26 January 2018 the Insolvency Service published two sets of statistics: Individual Voluntary Arrangements: Outcome Status 1990 – 2016 Insolvency Statistics: October to December 2017 Predictably the news stories about this lead on the statistic that personal insolvency went up: The number of people who became insolvent jumped by 9.4% in 2017 - the second year running that … [Read more...]
Too broke to go bankrupt – why bankruptcy fees should be cut
This article looks at the public policy implications of the current high bankruptcy fees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: £680 (£659 in Northern Ireland) is a big obstacle to fairness at the moment, causing people stress and sometimes leading them to make poor choices between debt solutions. If you want to go bankrupt and can't afford the fees, this is not the right article for you. … [Read more...]
Knightsbridge IVAs – must you agree to Creditfix’s variation?
15,000 people are being asked by Creditfix to agree to a variation that will increase the fees Creditfix gets from 15% to 23%. These are the Knightsbridge customers whose IVAs have recently been sold to Creditfix, If you have had one of these emails, do you have to agree? What are the pros and cons? IVA fees do matter Creditfix has said in the email about the proposed variation: The … [Read more...]
PPI claims after your IVA has finished
In March 2017, the Court of Appeal decision in the Green v Wright case was published: Mr Wright's IVA firm was allowed to collect PPI after his IVA ended, even though he hadn't consented to this before his completion certificate was issued. As questions about this continue to arrive, I thought it would be useful to summarise the current situation: what is clear and what is less clear. The … [Read more...]
The biggest IVA firms in 2014, 2015 & 2016 – league tables
Here are three League Tables for IVA firms, showing all firms that registered more than 500 IVAs in 2014, 2015 and 2016. This article is a complication of three previous articles. The comments on each year's figures were the comments I made at the time. The data came from the Insolvency Service, it was supplied to Louise Yates. As some of the notes to the League Tables and the comments below … [Read more...]
2016 insolvency numbers up – but rising debt isn’t the main cause
On 27 January the Insolvency Service published the data on insolvency in 2016. The number of people who became insolvent in England and Wales last year was 90,930. As the graph above shows, this has reversed the trend of personal insolvency numbers falling every year: the total for 2016 is over 13% higher than in 2015, the first time there has been a rise since 2009. Bank of England statistics … [Read more...]
Pensions safe in bankruptcy after Appeal Court decision
Following an Appeal Court ruling on Horton vs Henry, published in October 2016, pensions are once again safe if you go bankrupt. The full judgment is here. The background to this case was: before 2000, pensions formed part of a bankrupt's estate and would be taken once the bankrupt reached pension age; the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act changed this. For people going bankrupt after … [Read more...]
IVA lead generators – the case for regulation
IVAs are now the most common form of personal insolvency in England. Clear Debt has recently stated: Individual Voluntary Arrangements) (IVAs) have become the procedure of choice for those people who have debts they can’t pay and a regular income to enable them to make contributions to their debts. But how often is the choice of an IVA based on accurate information about the alternatives and … [Read more...]
IVA early exit loans – Perinta/Creditfix and Sprout/Aperture
Early IVA exit loans from Perinta offered in 2016 to Creditfix customers Some people have been told they can end their IVA by taking an "early exit loan" from Perinta Finance Ltd, via a broker called Just Lending. Creditfix is sending these emails, but the loan may be available to people in IVAs with other firms. Pearse Flynn, the CEO of Creditfix, used to be a director of Perinta, but no longer … [Read more...]