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...]
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:
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...]
Re-thinking Insolvency Practitioner Regulation
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]