How to choose the best IVA company in the UK

How do I check an insolvency practitioner is licensed?

You check an insolvency practitioner is licensed by finding them by name on the Insolvency Service’s Find an insolvency practitioner (opens in a new tab) directory, then confirming the licence with the professional body that authorises them, which the directory names.

The licence belongs to a person. Section 390 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (opens in a new tab) says only an individual who is authorised can act as an insolvency practitioner, so an IVA company should name the practitioners who will act for you and give their IP numbers. A company name on its own does not tell you who will run your IVA.

The directory only includes practitioners who have agreed to be listed, and the Insolvency Service says it is not a complete list of insolvency practitioners in the UK. If a name is missing, ask the firm which body licenses the practitioner and check that body’s own records.

You can check us the same way: James Kaye, IP number 9373 (opens in a new tab) and Nick Morgan, IP number 9078 (opens in a new tab) are licensed by the ICAEW, and the directory lists them at NTF Corporate Solutions Limited, the other NTF group company they run. Our page on who our licensed insolvency practitioners are has their full details, and our guide to how an IVA works explains what they would do as nominee and supervisor.

What should an IVA company tell you before you sign?

Before you sign, an IVA company’s insolvency practitioner should explain every debt option open to you with its advantages, disadvantages and likely costs, and confirm that advice in writing no later than the date your IVA proposal is issued (Statement of Insolvency Practice 3.1 (opens in a new tab), paragraphs 16 and 17).

SIP 3.1 also says you should have adequate time to think about the consequences and the alternatives before a proposal is drawn up. For a protocol IVA, the nominee should send you the key facts document and a copy of the protocol before you sign the proposal (IVA protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab), paragraphs 12 and 21). Expect, in writing:

• The fees. In a protocol IVA they come out of your monthly payments, never upfront, and your first payments cover more of the fees than your debts (key facts (opens in a new tab)).
• How long it lasts, and what happens to your home and to the length of the IVA if you own one.
• The risks. If the IVA is cancelled, creditors can chase you again and add back frozen interest and charges, and you get no refund of what you have paid.
• The other options, such as bankruptcy, a debt relief order or a debt management plan, and why the practitioner thinks an IVA fits or does not.
• Who referred you, if anyone did. The nominee must record the referrer and their connection to you and your creditors in the proposal.

What are the warning signs of a poor IVA company?

The warning signs of a poor IVA company include the advertising practices the Insolvency Service lists as misleading in its guidance on insolvency practitioners’ advertising (opens in a new tab), such as promised write-off percentages, claims of government backing, and ‘free’, ‘quick’ or ‘immediate’ debt solutions.

Its list also includes:

• charity, government or professional body logos the firm has no right to use, or claims that a practitioner works for it when none does
• a name, web address or colour scheme that looks like a debt charity’s
• claims to be FCA regulated when it is not, or to give ‘debt advice’ it is not authorised to give
• reviews, rankings or numbers of clients helped that you cannot check
• any gift, voucher or other inducement to sign up
• no clear statement that it is a business charging fees

Pressure to sign quickly is a warning sign too, because the practitioner should give you time to think and the key facts before you sign. None of these on its own proves a firm is acting improperly, and avoiding all of them does not make a firm right for you. Treat them as reasons to ask more questions, or to get a second opinion from a free adviser.

How do I complain about an insolvency practitioner?

You complain about an insolvency practitioner by complaining to the practitioner first and then, if you are not satisfied with the reply, using the government’s online complaints form (opens in a new tab), which sends your complaint to the practitioner’s professional (authorising) body.

The form covers things that happened in the past 3 years, or longer ago if you first found evidence of the problem in the past 3 years. You need to know which body licenses the practitioner, and the Insolvency Service directory shows it.

SIP 3.1 (opens in a new tab) requires the practitioner to keep a record that you were told about your right to complain through the Insolvency Complaints Gateway. Our own process, and the body that licenses James Kaye and Nick Morgan, are on our page about how we are regulated and how to complain.