IVA Review: Teacher on Debt Free Direct (4206 views)

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Review of: Debt Free Direct

Review date: 29 October 2010

Insolvency Practitioner who handled case: John Peter Fisher

I proceeded as far along as: Accepted IVA

The solution I opted for in the end: IVA

Speed of response

No of days to make a decision after I spoke to IVA company: 2 days

Weeks to IVA proposal after decision made: 2 weeks

Weeks to IVA accepted/rejected after decision made: 5 weeks


IVA Company Ratings
Their debt solutions expertise:	6 out of 10
Their customer service:	4 out of 10
Their speed of response:	5 out of 10
Overall Company Rating:	6 out of 10

Insolvency Practitioner Ratings
The quality of IVA proposal:	8 out of 10
Overall Insolvency Practitioner Rating:	6 out of 10

My circumstances:

A teacher with 25k of debt. Living on my own in a property bought on the key worker scheme, ie. no deposit of my own went into the property. Debts accrued through breakdown of previous relationship, student debt and using credit to furnish home.

My interaction with the company:

Phoned them - was immediately advised IVA would be a good solution for me. Felt relieved they could `freeze` interest and propose an affordable solution to get me out of debt in 5 years. For this, I am really pleased I opted for an IVA. Just not sure I chose the most efficient company to do this with.

Why I gave the ratings I did:

Initial set up service excellent, although, with hindsight, I wish I had just phoned up the companies I owed money to and made a debt plan with them direct to perhaps avoid an IVA affecting my credit rating now.

One thing they did - which really impressed me:

Initial set up was quick so I got started on the IVA plan really quickly. Latterly, their customer service HAS improved a little. Things seem to be logged better now so when I phone up they ARE aware of my most recent history - well done on making these improvements.

One thing they did - which I felt could be improved:

Follow up customer service has been very poor at times. I felt that, once the payments were going off my end, the company were not interested in me as an individual. No one was really `looking after me`. I was not contacted for almost a year after I was supposed to increase my contribution after stopping my pension, which meant I had to hastily and quite stressfully up my payments from £205 a month to £400 a month after being told I was "in arrears". Wrote a letter and it took them months to write back and apologise and tell me they would look into their customer service to see why this had happened. Annual reviews, too, are very clinical - you dont seem to get up to date figures from them advising how much you have paid in. I am now entering my 5th year and they havent been in touch to advise me how things are going. Also, a friend of mine is earning almost double I am and pays just £150 a month. I am paying back an awful lot for a single person on her own. I really stick to my budget and live off the bare minimum to make them each month. Budgeting IS hard. I have put my dream of having a family on hold - probably to my detriment as I am now in my very late 30s - and will be so relieved to be finally out of my IVA next year so my life can start again. Am hoping and praying I can afford to start a family after that and I havent left it too late, either :-(

Other points

I am just coming into my 5th year and I calculate that I would have paid back nearly the whole amount I owed in the first place (about 22k paid in by me). That IS a relief. Still have no idea how much/if I will need to remortgage next year or if the balance will be written off. No one has explained this to me, despite me requesting this information at my last annual review. It HAS helped me stick to a budget and I HAVE got control of money now and will never feel the need to buy anything on credit again. Part of me does think I rushed into the IVA at the start without looking around or trying to negotiate direct with my creditors. Because I have managed to pay so much of my original debt amount back into my IVA, I do wonder if I should have just tried to do this direct with my creditors rather than wreck my credit rating with an IVA. I would say - an IVA CAN and DOES work if you are in a heck of a lot of debt with no hope of paying it all back. Maybe I was too hasty to jump into an IVA considering I have paid back so much cash over these past 4 and a half years. Take time to make your decision - hard, I know, as you are so stressed at the time and just want a magic wand. Good luck!

Quality?	Genuine?	Date
5 out of 5	4 out of 5	25 April 2013
Comment: Thank you for this detailed review. I am also a teacher and have also found myself in a position where I am considering an IVA. This review has really given me more information than what these debt companies will give you. Thanks :)

Quality?	Genuine?	Date
5 out of 5	5 out of 5	04 November 2010
Comment: gud advise as i,ve just started up a iva.

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