Why a new one can’t be appointed
This is why it is so important that you do your homework in the first instance and work with a reputable insolvency practitioner with a strong track record who will communicate with you at every stage of the process so you won’t have any reason to change.
Any good firm will let you know in advance what will happen at each stage of the insolvency process, what they will do for you to facilitate it and what your and their responsibilities in the process will be.
They will look at what other insolvency options are available to you including debt management plans, debt relief or administration orders, other cash flow solutions including invoice factoring and possibly bankruptcy.
Advisor, nominee, supervisor
The role of your appointed insolvency practitioner will change throughout the process. They begin as an advisor, bringing all the realistic insolvency options to your attention and considering whether an IVA would be the best option for your situation. If it is, then they will assist you in preparing the proposal.
Once completed, their role changes and they become known as the nominee. In this stage they will prepare their own report to your creditors which details what investigations have been carried out to support your proposals and recommend whether they should be accepted or not.
The nominee forwards their report and your proposals to your creditors and gets a decision from them on whether your proposal should be approved or not.
If the IVA is approved by creditors then the role of the insolvency practitioner changes yet again – they become the supervisor. Now their job is to ensure that the terms of the IVA are being met by all parties and to balance your interests with those of your creditors.
Raising your concerns
If you’re concerned or unhappy with how your IVA is unfolding then there are some options available to consider; Your first recourse should always be to contact your insolvency practitioner and discuss your concerns with them. Contact them by phone or email immediately and they will be able to let you know what they can do to help. You should follow up in writing if you are unsatisfied with their first response in this instance.
If your concerns remain unresolved then you can get in touch with the Insolvency Service. Please be aware that the Insolvency Service will only look into your complaint on the grounds that your insolvency practitioner has behaved either unprofessionally, unethically or improperly.
They are unable to intervene in your IVA or to alter or reverse any decision the insolvency practitioner has made. Only a court has the power to do this and legal costs can potentially be very expensive.
Stopping my IVA
An IVA can be stopped at any time by letting it fail but there are some important points to consider before embarking on this course of action.
Once an IVA has failed then it is possible to start a new IVA from scratch with another insolvency practitioner but your debts are likely to remain outstanding and if a large amount of that debt is owed to HMRC then you may be forced into bankruptcy.
Any payments from your previous IVA will be lost and you will be starting a new payment schedule from scratch while the new insolvency practitioner will have to begin the advisor, nominee, supervisor process again too. Your creditors may not be too happy with the IVA failing and may be less willing to help or accept your proposals for a new IVA.
Contact us
Clearly one of the most important choices you face in the process is selecting an insolvency practitioner with the experience and skills to work closely with you and give you the best chance of navigating the insolvency minefield and getting on with your life.
Contact us today to set up a meeting and we can begin to work with you on proposals to resolve your insolvency issues.