Insolvency Practitioner's fee

[Frank1]

You should try to find out if the fees were approved in advance by other creditors.
If not you may have a case for disputing the fees.

[DCASTLE]

You should try to find out if the fees were approved in advance by other creditors.
If not you may have a case for disputing the fees.

I knew this was going to be a challenge.

The only other creditor is a solicitor who represented the person that went bankrupt. It was this solicitor who encouraged the guy to sue me and three other individuals—a case that he ultimately lost for a very obvious reason. The entire mess was caused by this incompetent, money-driven solicitor, so I’m not sure how, or if I would ever want to contact him, even to confirm whether he approved the fees upfront. The whole situation is a real mess!

[Frank1]

How can you be sure the IP was independent and not a friend of the solicitor?
It is your choice whether to query the fees.

[DCASTLE]

How can you be sure the IP was independent and not a friend of the solicitor?
It is your choice whether to query the fees.

I would say the IP is more likely a friend of those three individuals, since they appointed this IP in the first place.

If it turns out the IP is a friend of the three individuals, what can I do?

Are IPs regulated in the UK, like solicitors?

[DCASTLE]

I have now received a progress report from the IP/Joint Trustee detailing what has been done. Not sure if I should raise a new post—I just wanted to know what power/authority a Joint Trustee has when dealing with debt recovery from someone who has gone bankrupt. Many thanks!

[atticus]

I have been away so have just seen this thread.

1. IPs should present a breakdown of their fees.

2. When there are joint office holders, they will normally agree a division of responsibilities between themselves. The IP dealing with recovery action will have full power to act in the name of both.

3. IPs are members of professional bodies, but do you know which one for the individuals in question?

[DCASTLE]

I have been away so have just seen this thread.

1. IPs should present a breakdown of their fees.

2. When there are joint office holders, they will normally agree a division of responsibilities between themselves. The IP dealing with recovery action will have full power to act in the name of both.

3. IPs are members of professional bodies, but do you know which one for the individuals in question?

I am sorry if my post #20 was unclear.

I received a copy of the progress report from the Joint Trustee. I believe this Joint Trustee is in charge of the whole case, even though there are two trustees in total.

The report does give me a breakdown of all costs and explanations. However, while I was reading the explanations, I began to have questions about the process.

For example, the Trustee spent a significant amount of time negotiating the property value with the bankrupt individual. I thought that once the Trustee took over the estate, the bankrupt individual no longer had any say over their assets. These negotiations have now cost an additional £6.3K on top of the original estimate. Also, the individual sold his car to his mother right after he went bankrupt—was he allowed to do that?

The Joint Trustee now states that he needs another £18K for his remuneration, bringing the total to just under £100K including VAT. I believe the fees are excessive, even though the Trustee has explained everything in detail.