IVA diary

Hi everyone

There are tons of diaries on the debt-free-wannabee forum and little here so I thought I would start one as it may help others?

In October I realised that there was just no way I could continue the way I was. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, cutting back so much it was unrealistic, constant panic and sleepless nights and all this despite following all the suggestions and tips from many posters.

I got in touch with CCCS and then Payplan and Payplan after going through everything said I had a good chance of an IVA. No it isnt for everyone and yes I did my homework (many many hours on here and another very useful forum) and decided that I would apply for an IVA.

There are 3 steps with Payplan.
1. Initial contact and some forms to sign and return.
2. Hardest step - get all the paperwork together that they request! There is a great deal but they need all the information to make an informed decision. That took a couple of weeks and I managed to send most of it back at the same time, the rest I faxed as soon as I had it.
Payplan arranged for a surveyor to value our house and they were very nice.
3. After several phone calls and questions I was sent a proposal which I scrutinised, had a couple of questions about, then signed and returned.

I am now waiting for the creditors's meeting.

Whilst all this was going on, I made token payments with the help of a very good covering letter, changed my bank account and all my direct debits (still doing this now, red tape!) and started receiving phone calls and letters. Now I was expecting this and to be honest I didnt get that many. I have to be honest - Egg were the most polite and even sent me some debt information. They were always polite and helpful on the phone and wished me luck.

I have kept copies of all my paperwork which I feel is a good thing to do.
The most important thing to do is to be honest and include everything.

The relief I feel now is immense - I know exactly what cash I have what bills are going out and that there is a very nice lady on the end of a phone who will answer all questions no matter how odd they are!

If my IVA is rejected then Payplan will discuss a DMP as BR is not an option for me (I would lose my job).

I know that an IVA is not for everyone and there are criteria to be met and that some have been very unfortunate with their IVAs. For me it is an option. I am happier, sleeping now, eating properly and not stressing out, altogether a much nicer person to be around. I even had a second job on top of my main job and it was wearing me out and I hated everyone and everything.

So I hope you find this useful! There is another forum I read a lot (not sure if I can post the link here) and they too take everything in their stride and have answered some questions from other people I didnt even think of.

Take care, be well,

1 step xx