About our fees

At Bridgewood we pride ourselves on offering a great service and value for money. We believe in fairness and transparency and want you to be completely confident that, where a fee is payable, you know exactly how much you are paying and what any fees taken go towards.

If, after reading this page, you require any further information regarding our fees please do not hesitate to give our team a call and they will be more than happy to answer any questions you have.

You can use the menu below to jump to information on specific solutions:

• Our Initial Advice
• IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) Fees
• Bankruptcy Support Fees

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Our initial advice

Whilst the solutions we offer are paid for, either by you or by your creditors, the initial advice we give is completely free and without obligation. This applies regardless of whether you are dealing with us via our national telephone based service or in face-to-face meetings via a home visit.

During your initial discussion(s) with Bridgewood we will look at the specific details of your situation and consider what solutions are available to help you. Where appropriate solutions exist we will explain the pros and cons of each, including any fees that will be involved, and help you make an informed choice about what solution is right for you.

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IVA fees

An IVA can only be setup and administered by companies (such as Bridgewood) that employ a licensed Insolvency Practitioner (IP). The IP performs different roles before and then once an IVA is accepted, and there is a specific fee covering each role. These fees are called the Nominee's fee and the Supervisor's fee.

All IVA providers charge these fees in the same way, based on agreed scale that has been set by the creditors. Whereas many IVA companies will propose higher fees initially, only for them to be reduced by the creditors at your Meeting of Creditors, Bridgewood only ever propose fees at a level that we believe the creditors will accept.

As a successful IVA proposal can take several months to prepare and be accepted we will always look to provide an interim solution to give our clients immediate debt relief. In the vast majority of cases this takes the form of a Debt Management Plan and in these cases, upon acceptance of an IVA by your creditors, any setup fees paid into the Debt Management Plan will be discounted from the Nominee's fee for the IVA

Example of typical IVA fees

Total unsecured debt when entering IVA

£31,000

Monthly repayments

£300

Total repaid by individual (including fees)

£18,000

 

 

Nominee's fee

£1,200

Supervisor's fees (taken over 60 months)

£2,700

Supervisor's expenses

£290

 

 

Total debt write-off on completion

£17,190 (55.45%)

Total distributed to creditors

£13,810 (44.55%)

Example based on a typical client, with approx. £31,000 of unsecured debts who completes a 5-year IVA having initially been in a debt management plan with Bridgewood and has no equity in any property.

All fees and expenses are detailed in your IVA proposal so that both you and your creditors will have an opportunity to review them.

What are your IVA fees used for?

Nominee's fee

Before your IVA is proposed to your creditors our IP acts as your Nominee and the fees taken cover the work done in this period. This includes:

• Drafting your IVA proposal, which must be endorsed by our licensed Insolvency Practitioner
• Collecting creditor claims
• Giving notice of and holding the meeting of creditors
• Assessing any changes to the proposal suggested by your creditors

Supervisor's fee

Typically an IVA lasts for 5 years (60 months), during this period the IP's role changes to become your Supervisor. The Supervisor's fee covers all work undertaken in this period, including:

• Distributing payments to your creditors
• Dealing with all correspondence from your creditors on your behalf
• Completing annual reviews of your IVA
• Providing reports to creditors

Please note: You must maintain the agreed payments towards your IVA. If you do not then your IVA may fail, leaving you liable for the remaining balance and any costs already incurred.

If your circumstances change unexpectedly you should contact us immediately so we can assess whether variations to your IVA need to be proposed.

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Bankruptcy support fees

If you decide to file for Bankruptcy there are three fees you may have to pay. These fees are separate to any fees charged by Bridgewood

1. The Adjudicator fee of £130 - for considering your application.
2. The deposit of £550 - towards the costs of administering your bankruptcy.

We offer various Banruptcy Support services which carry a fee in addition to those listed above.

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