My stepfather had a series of IVA's to deal with his debt. He was however still unable to regularly meet these and recently absconded from work due to the pressures this placed on him and became a missing person. With the help of the police he was found and has been sectioned in a psychiatric ward as a result. It was the pressures of being unable to meet these payments that led to his absconding as he has always been a most conscientious employee and an excellent family man. He is now being treated in hospital and we fully intend for him to make a bankruptcy application as soon as he is able but in the meantime should I contact the debt management firms and inform them of the situation as I am worried they will harrass my mother (his partner) who obviously has enough of her plate at the moment and also should I write to them or should I get a lawyer?
Sorry to hear about your stepfather's health issues. It just goes to show how much pressure creditors can put on people. Depending on what the creditors did and what was said to your stepfather you may want to seek legal advice to see if they unduly and illegally harassed your stepfather.
If it was only your stepfather that entered into the IVA's then you should contact the debt management firm and let them know the situation. Give them a call and then follow-up with a letter explaining the issue (recorded post) so there is something in writing.
You should also change the contact details that the debt management companies/creditors have so that your mother isn't called by these companies. Get yourself a cheap PAYG phone and put £10 of credit on it. You can give this number to the creditors and then leave the phone on silent so you don't have to keep answering the calls.
My stepfather had a series of IVA's
Posted - 05 September 2009 : 19:23:03
