Regulation

In order to practise, Insolvency Practitioners (IPs), and the operation for which they are responsible, are subject to rigorous inspections to ensure the highest standard of service is provided. The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) regulates our IPs and provision of Harrington Brooks IVAs, auditing us yearly.

Only licenced Insolvency Practitioners are allowed to use insolvency procedures, backed by law to help people with their debt problems. Therefore only an IP can make an IVA proposal on your behalf to your creditors.

Unlike most financial services, when entering into an IVA, you can be sure you're dealing with people who are professionally qualified and accountable to higher bodies.

Insolvency Practitioners Association

Harrington Brooks' Insolvency Practise is regulated to the highest of professional standards by the IPA.

The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) is a membership body recognised for the purposes of authorising (licencing) insolvency practitioners under the Insolvency Act 1986. The IPA has been at the forefront in:

• Developing professional standards.
• Creating insolvency qualifications.
• Widening access to insolvency knowledge and understanding, and encouraging those involved in insolvency case administration and insolvency-related work to acquire and maintain appropriate levels of competence and skills. 
• Leading the debates on current issues such as regulation and IP qualifications, consumer over indebtedness, advice and solutions and the need for profession-wide procedures and structures for reporting unprofessional, unethical, improper and unfair practises. 

Licenced Insolvency Practitioners are:

• Authorised in relation to formal insolvencies on the basis of extensive experience and having passed exacting insolvency examinations.
• Required to maintain their knowledge and understanding through accredited continuing professional development programmes. 
• Subject to ongoing monitoring, an annual review of their authorisation and three-yearly inspections focussed on professional standards, quality and value. 

 Insolvency Practitioners are able to:

• Advise on, and undertake appointments in, all formal insolvency procedures – both personal (bankruptcies and individual voluntary arrangements) and companies and partnerships (liquidations, company and partnership voluntary arrangements, administrations and administrative receiverships).
• Advise on, and act in, informal re-scheduling of debts, reconstruction and reorganisations for individuals and businesses facing financial difficulties. 

The IPA is committed to promoting and maintaining the standards of professional conduct of its authorised Insolvency Practitioners (IPs), and will carry out a full investigation of any complaints about their professional conduct and of any information about unprofessional, unethical, improper or unfair practises.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about any aspect of the service you have received from Harrington Brooks in relation to your IVA, then please, in the first instance lodge your complaint using our complaints procedure.

If you are dissatisfied by the outcome of this, you can escalate your complaint using the IPA Complaints Procedure.