Watch out for the bogus debt advice company

Consumers in the UK are being urged to look out for a bogus debt advice company that is offering dodgy advice in order to profit from consumers' misery.

Bad debt levels in the UK have rocketed over recent years, and many people are struggling to keep up with repayments on debts. As a result of this many have turned to debt advice companies for support and advice, and experts state that consumers could easily get fooled by this new advice company, which has been sending mailings out to vulnerable consumers.

The company is called IVAC, which stands for the IVA Council, and although it may sound like an official debt advice company it is actually unregulated. Employees from the company are advising consumers to default on their debt repayments, and this is so that they can then take over and file for bankruptcy for the consumer. The company states that many people are being given the wrong advice with regards to IVAs and that bankruptcy would be the easier and more affordable option.

The letter sent out by IV AC states: 'The IVAC has noted a pattern of inconsistencies that may indicate that you may have been mis-sold your IVA… These IVA factories are offering only IVAs as debt solutions and are not exploring any alternatives.'

A spokesman from the company stated: 'We unfortunately alienated a large part of the industry by targeting all IVA customers initially. Together with the first website we created, yes, that was a terrible mistake. But we have learned from our mistakes and have since decided to target five main IVA factories that we believe are not properly advising their customers. They tell people they cannot do a bankruptcy because it will ruin their credit rating, but there is no real credit blacklist in this country. Many of the people we have come across would be better off filing for bankruptcy and they have been mis-sold IVAs on the bases that they won't lose their assets. But most of these people have nothing to their name, they have nothing to lose if they file for bankruptcy. Instead, they are dragged into making debt payments they cannot afford to repay.'

Tom Smith
6th December2007

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