So, apart from just walking away, is there anything that can be done to get this IVA modified to a sensible level? Is there any system of appeal or ombudsman?

Financial Support Systems of Manchester

My son has approached me about an IVA that he's in, asking for advice. When I read the documents relating to it I was frankly flabberghasted and outraged. My son owed £7731 in various unsecured debts and his partner owed £7713 with one additional joint debt of £1015. So £16, 459 in total. They literally had no money in their accounts and my son's partner, who suffers from mental health issues was suicidal. They consulted an insolvency practitioner that advised them to both enter into an IVA and this is my first bone of contention. My son's debts were probably manageable with a little assistance from the creditors and as they operate separate bank accounts and are only jointly liable for the joint debt and their joint mortgage it does not seem to me that advising either of them to get into an IVA was the best advice. On top of of that the IP charged them EACH £4410 in various fees that they promised wouldn't get added to the debt. In their state of distress they signed, without any proper understanding, an agreement to pay over 60 months £239 which they have been paying for two years and now it has been just increased to £444 per month for the final 3 years which will mean they will have paid £21,720 over the 60 months. On top of that the agreement allows for their home to be revalued at 54 months and for them to pay over 85% of any equity they have in the home at that time. I literally feel sick after reading the paperwork. I though an IVA was supposed to reduce your indebtedness. Surely this cannot be right. Can anyone give any helpful advice? Thank you in advance for any help.

In 1996 my husband was declared bankrupt following a business failure. At that time I took over paying all the mortgage payments including all the insurance endowment premiums. At that point there was no equity in the property. In 2006 the Protracted Assets unit of the Official receivers "took" my husbands share of the property and the endowment policy although, by that point, I had been paying all the mortgage/insurance premium payments for ten years I made no effort to prevent them from doing so, I realise that was probably a serious mistake but it's spilt-milk now. The property was eventually re-mortgaged (in joint names) to pay the receivers and my husband's name remains on the deeds, just because we never took it off. We did sign a Tenants in Common agreement giving me 100% of the equity in the home but did not enter it with the Land Registry, because we didn't anticipate another bankruptcy situation would occur. I continue to pay all the mortgage payments and all the endowment premiums with no help from my husband to this day. As a result of another business failure my husband is now considering bankruptcy again although he is in negotiation with his creditors, they are not showing much enthusiasm to agree a reduced settlement presumably because they can still see his name on the house deeds. He cannot get a DRO or IVA due to the size of the debt and his lack of income at present. All the debts are credit cards and therefore unsecured. The endowment policy has recently matured and I have the funds secured in my own private bank account. I paid the premiums for 20 years and I consider these monies mine. The interest-only mortgage is due in about ten months and these funds will be needed along with other investments that I have made alone. What I want to know is: Given that my husband has contributed nothing to the mortgage and endowment policies for the last 20 years are his creditors or the receivers going be be able to get at my home, again, simply because his name appears on the mortgage and deeds? Will either be able to claim a share of my endowment savings from my own account? Is it worth me instructing my own solicitors to protect my interests should court or bankruptcy proceedings begin or will I just be wasting my money? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Some points here, we're really in this trouble because the price comparison websites have put all the insurance brokers out of business (I know, I was one of them). I used to check 140 odd prices and then tell the client which were the cheapest and, more importantly, which cheap insurers to avoid. Brokers took a commission but were there to advise and assist the client. Now comparison sites take an even bigger commission and do nothing at all for the customer. A brief warning: some of this following advice might be a bit out of date because I left the industry a while back, if you want clarification just ring your insurance company and ask for advice, take down the name of the person you spoke to, write down the time and date of the call and what you were told and, for belt and braces protection, write a letter to the insurers confirming what was said and your understanding of the situation, keep a copy with your policy papers. If you're worried about policy cancellation, read your policy, it will have the terms under which the contract can be cancelled. The insurers usually say they can cancel by giving 7 days notice in writing to your last known address. I have NEVER in nearly 30 years experience ever heard of an insurer cancelling a policy without notifying the insured in some way (before this article that is), they have to ask for the Certificate of Insurance back to fully cancel their obligations under the Motor Insurance Bureau agreements. I suspect these ombudsman complaints are largely people trying to escape the consequences of their own action/inaction. No, the police cannot pull you over and prosecute you for using the vehicle outside the use you paid for, they don't have that information, unless you have a taxi sign on your roof and you don't have hire and reward cover. However, the insurers can and most likely will decline to pay any claim that occurs as a result of the breach of the policy's use restrictions. There are/were several standard use types for a private car (not taxi). Social Domestic and Pleasure(SD&P) - this usually counts driving to one permanent place of work as domestic use (for the insured only, sometimes NOT for the named drivers). Read your Certificate of Insurance and if you don't understand it ring them and ask. Class 1 - SD&P plus use by the insured in person (not named drivers usually) in connection with the insureds business or profession. Class 2- As above plus use by the insured in person in connection with the insured's employers business, excluding commercial travelling Class 3 - As above including commercial travelling The higher the use class, the more you will pay. All modifications from the manufacturers standard specification must be declared whether they affect performance or not, a tarted-up car is more attractive to thieves than a standard model, most insurers will not charge extra for minor enhancements, but the cheaper the insurer, the more the chance that they will. If you don't tell them, and its discovered after a claim has been submitted, they can then say they would have charged extra had they known beforehand and declare your insurance void so no claim can be paid. In general, the principle is that when you start or renew a policy, you know everything and the insurer knows nothing. YOU have the responsibility to declare everything that a prudent underwriter might want to know about. If you hide anything you hand him a way out of the contract when a claim occurs. If you're not sure whether a fact is "material" the best thing is to declare it upfront and let the underwriter decide. Also,when buying insurance pay a little extra and get cover from a household-name insurer, avoid cheap companies you've never heard of. Don't just buy the lowest priced rubbish off a price comparison site.