Pay it off quicker ?

Skint_again

Can I ask members for their opinion on I.V.A.'s ?

My wife and I have been with the CCCS since January of this year and it has brought us great peace of mind.

However with a debt free date of Dec.2012 and being 55 years of age (older but not wiser ! ) the next 7 years look a bit depressing.

I have been hearing a lot lately about I.V.A.'s and how companies will accept a percentage of the total debt as full and final payment, one company offers to get you debt free within 5 years.

Simple question, is it worth approaching them or should I just take my medicine ?

Xbigman

From what you have posted an IVA does not seem the way to go. The reason you are attracted to an IVA is the 5 year timeline. You would in theory save two years but an IVA is not set up overnight and could be rejected by your creditors. If you run into a lot of glitches you could take 6 months to get it running. Also, an IVA is much more set in its structure. A DMP is flexible in that you can pay more, and pay it off faster, as your circumstances improve over time.
You are also attracted by the possibility of some debts being written off. This does happen quite often but in your circumstances it appears you would end up paying a high% of your debts anyway. IVA's are also fee charging, so if you can pay more each year it does not reduce the time you are paying.
Do you own your own home? An IVA can also include a requirement that you give up some of the equity you have, which would take longer again to clear up.
Regards




X

donnalove

basically in a i.v.a there is not much room for a life.
they take all your available income and any extra you may come into.
your i&e WILL NOT be as genorous as in a dmp.
if you fail the i.v.a either by missing payments or not sticking to the proposal they can petition for your bankrupcty.
we have now completed ours but we had to remortgage to relise equity to settle.

Skint_again

Thanks for the replies.

Having settled into the DMP I was a bit dubious about rocking the boat and changing things, it sounds as though I was right but it was worth asking the question.