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Selecting an Insolvency Practitioner to prepare your IVA can be a tricky business.

Well, IVAorg are IVA specialists and, therefore, well positioned to help you make that choice.

From our very first involvement, our sole aim is to ensure that your IVA reaches a successful conclusion, giving you the very best chances of achieving your goal of becoming debt free.

The Insolvency Act states that an IVA can only be proposed and administered through the services of a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, otherwise known as an IP.

Some IPs work in commercial insolvency and some work in personal insolvency, the area that IVAs fall into.

So, firstly, you’re going to need an IP that specialises in the personal insolvency field.

There are many IPs throughout the country working within personal insolvency, with some providing protocol compliant IVAs, an expression given to a predetermined structure, or protocol, on which most IVAs are based. Other IPs in this field might typically provide non-protocol compliant IVAs, which are to say, those more complex IVAs that fall outside of the IVA protocol framework.

Consequently, choosing an IP has the potential to become rather a hit and miss affair.

Making The Right Choice

Here are some great tips to ensure you find the best IVA provider. Follow these few tips and you won’t go far wrong.

Use An IVA specialist

Some people may prefer to contact a local IP for help because they prefer to communicate face to face.

But, as mentioned earlier, not all IPs focus on personal insolvency, meaning your local IP may be less familiar with the intricacies of the IVA process, which could then prove to be a big disadvantage.

With the COVID driven improvements in communication, it’s now really easy to arrange video conferencing calls, via Zoom and Teams, and speak to a specialist IVA provider face to face, irrespective of where you live so the need to stay local has gone.

Here at IVAorg, we’re able to assist clients all across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and because we’re IVA specialists, you get the benefit of our expertise whilst having complete face to face access with our team should you prefer it.

Do Not Use A Commercial Introducer

An introducer is an individual or a company that introduces people to an IP.

Commercial introducers have a commercial arrangement with the IP. They often operate websites designed to look like an IVA provider, but they don’t actually have the skills to provide the IVA service themselves. Instead, they sell their clients details to an IP for a large commission.

Using a commercial intermediary is generally a bad idea because they provide commission driven advice.

It is really important to make sure you only use an FCA regulated ‘Not For Profit‘ organisation, such as IVAorg, Citizens Advice, StepChange or Christians Against Poverty UK, to be on the safe side.

Check the FCA register before you start

It is a legal requirement for all individuals or companies, giving professional debt advice to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Authorisation is only given by the FCA after rigorous checks have been made.

Anyone can access the public records to verify the credentials of the intermediary by visiting the FCA website at The Financial Services Register

Checking the credentials of an intermediary will help safeguard you from rogue traders and receiving bad advice.

Protect yourself from pushy sales-people

Remember you’re in a very vulnerable position so don’t automatically assume your debt advisor has your best interests at heart.

There are still some debt advisors whose only concern is about what commission they might earn from helping you and, because of this, many will tell you exactly what you want to hear or make promises they can’t keep, just to get your business.

It is always best to remain guarded until you are sure you are talking to the right organisation.

Remember, if the advice feels pushy, walk away.

Do not pay up front set-up costs

Make sure the IVA provider you approach does not charge up any upfront fees.

Paying a set up fee is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs.

It’s best to use a ‘Not For Profit‘ organisation like IVAorg that doesn’t charge upfront fees.

8 Top tips

Here are 8 great tips to help you find the right IVA company for you:

1. Use a free service.
   Make sure you choose a free service provider like IVAorg CIC
2. Invest time with your advisor.
   The relationship you build with your IVA advisor is really important. They need an accurate understanding your situation if they are going to be able to assist you, so you’ll need to be able to open up to them. This means you must be prepared to share details of your personal financial circumstances in order to get the very best advice, tailored to suit your needs.
3. Knowledge is power.
   Your IVA advisor should be knowledgeable and empathic. They should be able to explain all aspects of the IVA solution to you in clear and plain English, with relevance to your personal circumstances, however complicated that might appear to be. They should be able to impart their knowledge to you sufficient to enable you to make an informed decision of your own.
4. Look for balanced advice.
   The objective of any IVA consultation should be to provide you with balanced advice to ensure you can make an informed decision on your own terms. This should include a complete explanation of the alternative solutions you have, including Bankruptcy, Debt management and Debt Relief Orders. If you are being advised solely towards an IVA as the only solution then be cautious.
5. Beware of being sold an IVA dream.
   There are many commercial introducers that employ ‘debt advisers’ who would be better described as sales people, and they are very good at selling the idea of an IVA. The truth is IVAs are not always the best option, but can be made to look very attractive, particularly with a promise of low monthly payments. However, IVA payments should be based on affordability and creditors will get the chance to check your budget figures prior to accepting or rejecting your IVA. If creditors feel your offered payments are unreasonably low, they will ask for an increase at the creditors meeting.
6. Beware of the over promise.
   The decision as to whether your IVA will be approved rests, ultimately, with your creditors and not with your advisor. Any guarantees or promises of success by your advisor are, most probably, a sales tactic intended to apply more pressure and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
7. Follow your instincts.
   Entering an IVA is a serious course of action for anyone to undertake. That’s why it’s so important to have confidence in the advice you receive and be comfortable with the people charged with helping you. If you have the slightest doubt about either, you should consider seeking a second opinion before you make a commitment. Remember, so long as you haven’t actually entered the IVA, it is never too late to walk away.
8. Refundable IP Fees.
   If your chosen IVA provider insists on taking payments from you before the Creditors’ Meeting make sure you have a money back guarantee just in case your IVA gets rejected. If they won’t give you a guarantee, call 0800 856 8569 and we’ll propose your IVA without any money up front.

Choose IVAorg

By choosing IVAorg you take the risk out of the IVA process.

The team behind IVAorg have been helping people enter IVAs for well over twenty years and we have the expertise to help you. We can give you the peace-of-mind you will need that your IVA proposal has the best chance of success from the outset, giving you the confidence that your IVA is going to work for you.

IVAorg CIC – the Not for Profit IVA provider

One of the main reasons IVAorg was created was to help people determine whether entering an IVA is in their best interests, whilst removing the commercial pressure from the decision making process. We provide this service through a prearranged free and confidential consultation.

During your consultation our advisers will use their experience to answer any IVA related questions you may have, whist helping you to better understand how the alternative solutions compare to an IVA when applied to your specific circumstances.

If, after your consultation, you decide to opt for an IVA, we can process your IVA application and administer your IVA in-house, right through to your IVA’s successful completion.

Our IVA acceptance rate is currently above 98%.

Improving IVA outcomes

One of IVAorg’s main aims is to improve the outcomes for our clients.

Being a Not for Profit allows us to retain much needed financial resources within our operating funds, which in turn means we can support the needs of our clients with a well resourced team of IVA specialists, rather than paying profits to shareholders.

Adding to that, our unique pledge aligns our vested interests with the vested interests of our clients – namely, to ensure wherever possible, the successful outcome of their IVA.

But the most compelling reason to choose IVAorg as your IVA provider is that our two pronged approach is currently producing extraordinary results and currently our IVA failure rate is sitting at 1.2%, compared to an industry wide failure rate of around 30%

If you would like to talk to someone, simply call IVAorg on 0800 0856 8569 or complete this form and an adviser will contact you at your preferred time.