Simon Jack, BBC Radio 5 Business Correspondent interviews ClearDebt’s marketing director, Andrew Smith, about IVA fees and debt write-off.
Download the .mp3 audio (769KB) – 3.16 mins
BBC Radio 5 Business Correspondent interview with Andrew Smith
by Marketing on April 18th, 2007
Referral Agreement with The Money Helper
by Andrew_F_Smith on March 27th, 2007
ClearDebt Group PLC, the Aim Quoted IVA provider is pleased to announce the signing of a significant referral agreement with The Money Helper (“Money Helper”, or “MH”)
Highlights
# Referral agreement with The Money Helper could eventually provide an additional 100 new IVAs per month to the Group.
# Consideration will be the issue of warrants in ClearDebt on a sliding scale based on volumes of referrals.
ClearDebt announces that it has entered into an agreement with Darren Ferneyhough and Michael Cooke, trading as “The Money Helper”, under which MH will introduce to ClearDebt, co-ordinating Independent Financial Advisors who will subsequently introduce indebted individuals to ClearDebt for the purpose of arranging an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (“IVA”) on the most appropriate advice basis.
Consideration for the referral of the IVAs will be paid by reference to a sliding scale and will be satisfied by the issue to Darren Ferneyhough and Michael Cooke of up to 10,000,000 warrants to subscribe for ordinary shares of 2p each in the capital of ClearDebt (“Ordinary Shares”) (the “Warrants”). Each Warrant will give the holder the right to subscribe for one Ordinary Share at a subscription price of 3p per share at any time until 26 March 2010.
ClearDebt believes that this agreement has the potential to provide an additional 100 IVAs per month.
David Mond, CEO of ClearDebt Group PLC commented
“This is an excellent arrangement for the Group, as it has the potential to increase our IVAsper month to an average of 120 per month. We believe that this will see the start of ClearDebt becoming a major player in the IVA arena.
We are confident that our flexible kaizen derived systems will be able easily to cope with the increased level of IVAs that we believe will flow from this arrangement. We will also ensure proper control of the increased work flow over the coming months in order to maintain our excellent reputation for efficiency, fee transparency and our ethical approach in the market place with both creditors and the indebted consumer.
With the potentially increased cash flows, matched by our efficient systems, we are very confident about the Group’s future prospects. The Board is still in negotiations with a number of other referrers and will remain alert for any further opportunities which may enhance the Group’s value.”
Mike Cooke from The Money Helper said
“The selection of ClearDebt as our working partner for IVA business came after a lengthy investigative period, the results of which have convinced us that ClearDebt offers the best service to all participants in the IVA process: debtors, creditors and administrators, guaranteeing an exceptional level of satisfaction for all concerned. We look forward to working together to make this initiative a success.”
For further information, please contact
David Mond, CEO, ClearDebt Group PLC Tel: 0161 288 7444
Andrew Smith, Marketing Director, ClearDebt Group PLC Tel: 0161 244 5430
ClearDebt Payment Protection – The Genuinely Ethical Approach
by Marketing on December 11th, 2006
ClearDebt has just announced an innovative scheme to insure creditors in an IVA against the risk of a debtor falling sick or being made redundant. ClearDebt itself is taking out a policy underwritten at Lloyds which will cover all IVAs which it supervises.
An independent report on Cleardebt’s IVA Protect – Payment Protection Insurance has been produced by Senior Analyst John Borgars at Equity Development.
The whole report can be viewed at http://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/client/terms.html?company=cleardebt
ClearDebt launches IVA Protect – Payment Protection Insurance
by Marketing on December 1st, 2006
IVA contributions protected on all suitable IVAs • No charge to debtors – lowest possible cost to creditors • Provides stability and confidence for both debtor and creditor
CLEARDEBT GROUP PLC (“ClearDebt” or “The Group”)
ClearDebt launches IVA Protect – Payment Protection Insurance
Highlights
• IVA contributions protected on all suitable IVAs
• No charge to debtors – lowest possible cost to creditors
• Provides stability and confidence for both debtor and creditor
Aim-quoted IVA provider ClearDebt today is pleased to announce the introduction of “IVA Protect” – payment protection insurance for all ClearDebt IVA’s.
ClearDebt believes it is the first IVA provider to make available such a policy, insured through Lloyd’s of London Underwriters, Cassidy Davis part of Jubilee Managing Agency Limited. As a corporate, rather than a retail product the insurance will be applied to all ClearDebt IVAs
IVA Protect has been deliberately created to pay out whenever possible as its aim is to enhance debtor and creditor confidence that their IVA can last the distance; increasing ClearDebt’s stature as the partner of choice for both creditors and debtors.
ClearDebt will not receive any commission on this Policy.
The Policy, brokered by Willis, will cost 4% of the contribution offered to creditors by each debtor. It will not increase the amount a debtor has to pay. Cover is likely only to be declined if the debtor is aware of any impending redundancy or debilitating illness.
The policy is designed to protect the debtor’s monthly IVA contributions and can pay up to 12 months’ for any one claim, should a debtor be unable to work due to an accident, illness or involuntary unemployment. Accident and illness are covered from the day the debtor’s proposal is accepted. A 90 day qualifying period applies only to unemployment. Further occurrences of unemployment or illness will also be covered for additional 12 month periods.
David Mond, CEO of ClearDebt Group Plc said,
“Our aim is to ensure our IVA’s are the best possible for both debtors and creditors. Creditors will benefit from lower IVA failure rates and our low, fixed fee structure means we will still produce higher returns than our competitors to creditors.
“Taking no commission means creditors receiving a better dividend and the policy will remove the worry of unemployment or serious illness for debtors in IVA’s.
IVA Protect will allow ClearDebt to offer the best service to both creditors and debtors. We believe that it will strengthen our level of passed IVA’s and help ClearDebt with its aim of achieving the industry’s lowest failure rate.”
-ends-
For further information please contact
David Mond, CEO ClearDebt Group Plc
Tel: 0161 244 5433
Andrew Smith, Director of Marketing ClearDebt Group Plc
Tel: 0161 244 5433 …/more
Paddy Blewer, College Hill Associates
Tel: 020 7457 2020
David Youngman, W H Ireland
Tel : 0161 832 2174
Note for Editors:
ClearDebt is AIM quoted under the ticker CLEA.L
ClearDebt aims to provide the most transparent and ethical service to debtors, at the lowest cost – giving many more people the opportunity to arrange an IVA than has been possible before. All customer-facing staff are trained in IVA provisions and all have insolvency practice experience: ClearDebt is not a call centre, nor do ClearDebt employ call centre type operatives.
ClearDebt’s principles include providing best advice wherever possible to all debtors: Where the facts indicate an IVA is the right solution ClearDebt will provide advice and support – but never pressure – to the debtor. Where the facts indicate other solutions ClearDebt will point the debtor in the right direction.
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ClearDebt Comments on Insolvency Figures
by Andrew_F_Smith on February 14th, 2007
Against wider predictions that there would be a significant rise in IVA’s during the fourth quarter of 2006, ClearDebt believes that the very low growth in the quarter is due not to a lower level of personal debt, but to the well publicised discussions between some of the IVA providers and institutional creditors.
ClearDebt believes that this situation, where creditors have demanded that IVA providers return more to creditors by reducing their fees or face the situation where their IVAs are refused has led to lower acceptances and a backlog of IVAs that will possibly impact during first quarter of 2007, when it is hoped that the industry will see a compromise between all the major players.
After consultation between the Insolvency Service, British Bankers Association and the majority of the IVA providers, and the newly formed Debt Resolution Forum, it is hoped that a compromise will emerge. Creditors will acknowledge that IVAs often provide the best possible solution to personal insolvency and in return IVA providers may spread some of their costs over the life of the IVA, thereby guaranteeing the creditor an earlier income and sharing the risk of IVA failure.
ClearDebt is not affected operationally by this conflict, as due to its unique operating model, it currently is the lowest cost AIM listed IVA provider and has yet to be failed by creditors on the basis of fees. This is not the case with the wider market, which operates with considerably higher overheads due to inflexible business models.
David Mond, CEO of ClearDebt commented:
“These figures are a direct result of the current conflict between the IVA industry and creditors. There has to be a solution found quickly – banks and the credit card providers need to remove artificial hurdles and approve IVAs on the basis of appropriateness and affordability and IVA providers must lower their fees, or face the prospect of alienating creditors.
ClearDebt is not directly affected by this situation as our flexible operating model allows us to be amongst the lowest charging, and with our unique IVA insurance also making us the safest option for creditors. We have not been denied an IVA on price by creditors in 18 months trading. We are however part of the wider industry, and through the Debt Resolution Forum look to take a leading role in the negotiations necessary to find a compromise.
We should not forget that debtors are the real victims of this. We believe that there was actually a considerable rise in personal insolvencies, which will be illustrated by a rise in Q1 2007. These cases cannot be held in stasis indefinitely. The UK economy needs creditors to recognise that IVAs are fair to banks, credit card providers and to debtors and the IVA industry needs to recognise that creditors require value for money.”
For further information, please contact
David Mond, CEO, ClearDebt Group PLC
Andrew Smith, Director, ClearDebt Group PLC
Paddy Blewer, College Hill Associates
Tags: comment, data, Insolvency figures
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