UK Vs Ireland Insolvency Practices - Breach of Contract and Data Protection Breaches

I’m looking for some thoughts on the following please.

I had previously mentioned that I had been dealing with an insolvency practitioner in the UK. Having spent time discussing my situation with them, it was decided that I would be best suited to their debt management programme.

All ran very smoothly and my creditors were positively responsive to my financial difficulties. I have been complying with the arrangement.

I now find today that the UK Insolvency Practitioner is no longer able to operate in Ireland due to legislative changes.

They have also advised me that my file has been passed onto a company in Ireland in a fait accompli fashion.

My questions are

1) Under the Data Protection Act will my file which is highly sensitive be protected?

2) Can I sue the UK Insolvency Practice for handing over my file that I believed was secure and protected under British legislation?

3) Will my contract with the British Insolvency practice hold up in the Irish context with its new legislation?

I believe that my information should not have been divulged to a third party apart from my creditors.

Also to add to my previous post - file was passed over without my consent or knowledge.

I do not know if we are speaking about the same UK company ??

My other half received a telephone call yesterday; stating that 'they' would be no longer acting on our behalf and for us to cancel our standing order with them immediately. This has came as a bolt out of the blue.

She got over the sudden shock and questioned the caller. They said there had been "sweeping changes to Irish legislation" and they believed it was in their customers interests they pass their Irish client list to the new company based in the ROI.

On further questioning they said they had been dealing with this Irish company for some months ???

Also told our information would never be handed over to a third party.

Totally lost for words.

I have a lot of concerns.

Surely, if I sign a contract with one company they cannot pass my contract onto a third party and expect the third party to pick up were they left off.

My contract is with them, not the Irish company.

Brendan B or anyone with experience in cunsumer law shed any light on this please?

Much appreciated.

First of all, a debt management plan should not be contractually binding, so while you may have agreed to certain terms or conditions of business, you should not be tied to the agreement. Only the likes of an IVA would be legally binding, and could not be passed outside the UK. If you resided outside the UK you couldn't even enter into this type of agreement.

We have just started dealing with a UK company this week, who are withdrawing for similar reasons, ie the enforcement of Central Bank regulations, but in order for us to get hold of the new customer's file, we have to contact each customer, explain the position, and give the customer the option of moving to our service.

In our case, we cannot access anyone's personal data without the consent of the individual, so we require them to sign a new Letter of Authority to Act. Once this has been obtained, we can then request the client's file be sent over. If the customer does not want to move, they cannot be forced to move to any company, or can set up a new agreement elsewhere.

Before any of this has happened, the UK company has also had to contact each individual customer to explain the situation to their own customers, and get their consent to pass the customer's contact information on to us, in order that we can then contact the customer.

This is the arrangement we have, but I cannot comment for certain on other companies' arrangements. As the original agreement you may have had was with a UK company, it is likely that the agreement would fall under UK data protection laws, and under these laws, a data protection agreement may have been set up between the two companies allowing them to exchange the relevant information.

Hopefully this may put your mind at rest. Have a look at your terms and conditions if you still have them, and you should see that you are not tied contractually to this company, nor are you obliged to move where they tell you to. However, it's actually good practice to have a back-up for their client's in this eventuality, rather than leaving people at the mercy of their creditors. It could have been far worse if they simply turned their back on their Irish customers.

PS The regulations should also be welcomed, as they are designed to protect consumers, and by engaging with an Irish company, there is a safety net. The Central Bank have been going through every Irish company with a fine tooth comb over the last three months, and those who have had issues regarding client funds have been closed down by the Central Bank.

Thank you for your feedback Frostie.

I am generally concerned by the sudden flee out of Ireland by these UK debt management companies. This makes me very uneasy.

When they contacted us we were not given clear answers and I felt we were fobbed off with the "it is in your best interest" line.

We are as more confused now than we were this time last year. We had been contemplating bankruptcy in the UK but were told by the UK debt management company that maybe we wouldn't have too up sticks and move to the UK, as the new legislation was in our favour and they envisage large mortgage write downs, while still allowed to stay in your home??

Obviously I don't know your circumstances, Wishes, so it's hard to say if the advice you received was appropriate for you. While a debt management plan is often a viable alternative to bankruptcy, the UK legislation has many strands to it, and there is similar legislation coming in in Ireland.

Because of the new insolvency procedures here, you would be as well undertaking a review of your circumstances with an Irish advice company, but make sure that you get the full picture. It's very easy to suggest continuing with a debt management plan, as there are companies who only operate DMPs and nothing else, and over the term, they can earn quite a bit in commission. They will also not have the experience of UK-type legislation, or how this could be of benefit to you. There will be fees invovled here too, however, you could be out of the woods sooner with the new legislation.

It's also very foolish for them to tell you that they expect large mortgage write downs, as these are completely case-specific, and like the new legisaltion, will all depend on your circumstances.


www.frost.ie

frostie said:

Because of the new insolvency procedures here,

Click to expand...

Are you referring to the proposed legislation ?

Yes Bronte, they are expected to be in place for the end of April, and while I was expecting some delay with this because of the complexities, the dept Justice are saying that the legislation must be finalised for this date.

Thank you Frostie you're posts have been very helpful.

Do you envisage a mammoth amount of repossessions after the end of April or what is your guess on the way things will pan out?

frostie said:

Yes Bronte, they are expected to be in place for the end of April, and while I was expecting some delay with this because of the complexities, the dept Justice are saying that the legislation must be finalised for this date.

Click to expand...

Frostie, do you mean this will be passed by the government by the end of April or will it merely be the publication of legislation by the end of April?

The proposed legislation on insolvency is expected to be finalised by end April 2012. After that it must go through the normal process of being presented and pased by the Dail before it becomes law, AFAIK.

Thanks for clarifying 44brendan.