Fees

Debt Management Plans

Fees

There is an option to pay a fee for this service with a commercial debt management company or you can seek assistance from the free sector, such as a charitable organisation.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements

Fees

In an IVA, a licensed Insolvency Practitioner (IP) assigned to your case will first act as Nominee and then Supervisor, drawing a fee for both services. The level of fees they propose depends on your individual circumstances and the level of the Nominee’s and Supervisor’s fees and expenses will be detailed in your IVA proposal. These fees may be calculated as a percentage of contributions paid by you, or as a fixed fee or on a time cost basis. It will be for the creditors to decide the basis and amount of such fees.

The fees will be payable from the monthly contributions that you make.

Your creditors will decide whether the fees are reasonable and they can reduce the fees at the meeting of creditors. In effect, it is your creditors who take the burden of the fees because the fees reduce the amount that creditors receive but the amount you pay into the IVA stays the same.

Nominee’s fee

The Nominee’s fee is a fixed fee to cover the setup costs of the IVA and assistance with the preparation of the proposals:

• Preparation of your IVA proposal.
• Convening and holding the creditors meeting.

Supervisor’s fees

The Supervisor’s fees will cover the on-going supervision and maintenance of your IVA for the agreed term (usually 5 years). Your IP along with suitably qualified members of their staff will undertake some or all of the following;

• Regular reviews of your IVA
• Preparing and sending statutory reports to your unsecured creditors
• Agreeing on the level of your unsecured debts
• Making payments (paying dividends) to your creditors in accordance with the terms of your agreed IVA proposal
• Liaising with your unsecured creditors
• Liaising with you whenever you have any questions
• Re-assessing your circumstances if they change during the term of the IVA, and reporting this to creditors where necessary
• Annually assessing your income and expenditure
• Generally ensuring that the IVA runs satisfactorily for you and for your unsecured creditors
• After the Nominee’s fee has been paid, a percentage of each monthly payment will be taken as supervisor’s fees, as detailed in your IVA proposal.

Here’s an example of the fees and payments on a typical IVA:

• Based on unsecured debts of £35,000
• Based on a monthly contribution of £350
• Total paid over 60 months: £21,000
• Typical Nominee’s Fee agreed by creditors: £1,600
• Typical Supervisor’s Fee agreed: £1,750.
• Disbursements (expenses) incurred by Nominee and Supervisor: £300
• Return to creditors: 49.5p in the £1

Your IP will always tell you what fees are involved and how they are calculated before you commit to an IVA.

Debt Relief Order

Fees

Debt Relief Orders are available through a limited number of approved intermediaries such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and there is no fee to apply.

Bankruptcy

Fees

You must pay the court fee and deposit yourself, currently £680 per person (possibly subject to some concessions).

Trust Deed

Fees

The appointed trustee will charge a fixed administration fee and an additional fee based on a percentage of funds collected during the trust deed for the work they do in administering the trust deed. The trustee must give you an indication of what they will charge before the trust deed is signed.

Debt Arrangement Scheme

Fees

A charge is made to creditors for the provision of the payments distribution service and application fee. The legislation states the maximum fee to be charged for the application is 2% and the payment distributor’s fee must not be more than 8% of the amount due to be paid to a creditor.

Therefore, if you complete the programme under DAS, creditors will receive a minimum of 90% of the debt owed to them.

Sequestration

Fees

There is a charge of £200 to go through a Sequestration. You might, however, be able to pay this in instalments