We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Why choose a DMP over an IVA?????

Why if you owe for e.g £20,000 would you enter into a debt management plan and agree an affordable fixed sum per month until the debt is repayed if you could set up an IVA for a similar amount and have a large proportion of the debt "written off". Why would a creditor "write off" such a debt under an IVA if they can see that you can afford for eg £200 per month on a dmp. Surely they just lose money left right and centre that way.

I want to get rid of my debt and am confused between the two IVA or DMP. IVA looks loads better as I pay less back???? am I right?????

Comments

  • icecube2009
    icecube2009 Posts: 330 Forumite
    en500cc wrote: »
    Why if you owe for e.g £20,000 would you enter into a debt management plan and agree an affordable fixed sum per month until the debt is repayed if you could set up an IVA for a similar amount and have a large proportion of the debt "written off". Why would a creditor "write off" such a debt under an IVA if they can see that you can afford for eg £200 per month on a dmp. Surely they just lose money left right and centre that way.

    I want to get rid of my debt and am confused between the two IVA or DMP. IVA looks loads better as I pay less back???? am I right?????
    How I understand it is if you have property do a DMP, we have £46k debt & have just started a DMP with CCCs.
    Light Bulb Moment feb 2009

    Started DMP June 2009

    Struggling, debts still mounting due to interest & charges :mad:
  • 10past6
    10past6 Posts: 4,962 Forumite
    AN IVA is only applicable to a very, very small % of people.

    This site has numerous threads from members re mis sold IVAs.

    One reason for an IVA is having assets like a property to protect.
    Click here for Martins (MSE) advice on who to contact with Debt Issues - YOU HAVE NO REASON TO USE A FEE PAYING DEBT MANAGEMENT COMPANY- THEY CANNOT DO ANYMORE FOR YOU THAN THOSE LISTED IN MY LINK ABOVE.

    All information given by myself is offered informally and without prejudice - if in doubt seek help from a qualified and insured professional
  • LilacPixie
    LilacPixie Posts: 8,052 Forumite
    IVA's are alsovery inflexible. £200 permonth may be affordable at the start but then something life changing happens, maybe illness, redundancy or even kids and suddenly you can't meet the £200. On a DMP that can be renegotiated. On and IVA it can't and your IVA would fail and bankrupsy is a very real possibility.
    MF aim 10th December 2020 :j:eek:
    MFW 2012 no86 OP 0/2000 :D
  • GeorgeUK
    GeorgeUK Posts: 7,737 Forumite
    A Debt Management Plan allows you to negotiate a settlement with your creditors. If the amount you offer is not acceptable to them, they can take you to court for a CCJ where the judge will rule an amount you must pay them from your available income.

    With an IVA, if you fail to keep up the payments, you could lose your home and be declared bankrupt. An IVA is a form of insolvency.
    After falling off the gambling wagon (twice): £33,600 (24,000+ 9,600) - Original CC Debt: £7,885.91

    Dad Gift 6k ¦ Savings & Inv Tst: £2,500
    Loan 10k: £0 ¦ Dad 5.5k: £2,270 ¦ LTSB: £0 ¦ RBS: £0 ¦ Virgin £0 ¦ Egg £0

    Total Owed: £2,270 (+6k) 11/08/2011
  • Lots of reasons, as stated above, why you would choose a DMP over an IVA. In particular if you own property and there is equity in it at the end of an IVA, your IVA payments may not be the end of your commitments

    For a DMP you can either manage it yourself, and so you get total control over where your money goes, or use a non-fee paying company, where you know that all your money goes to your creditors. It maybe that when you look at how much you can afford, 5 years worth of payments would cover your debts anyway, and the amount written off would be minimal and not worth the disadvantages of an IVA ( this was my situation).

    A DMP is more flexible than an IVA and easier to set up. As 10past6 says, check out the IVA sub forum for lots of stories of IVAs that have been missold or failed - it's scary stuff
    [STRIKE]
    DFW Nerd number 729
    [/STRIKE]
    Debt Free & Proud
  • Deep_In_Debt
    Deep_In_Debt Posts: 8,579 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Mortgage-free Glee!
    One of the many reasons why I didn't do the IVA route is that a lot can happen in 5 years. I looked into taking an IVA in 2007 and since then I have lost my job so glad I didn't go down the IVA route in the end.

    Also, as others have stated, the allowances on an IVA are very tight and inflexible. On a dmp, if you find you are in difficulty one month for whatever reason you can pay a token payment and then start again the following month, whereas with an IVA you can't. Failure of a dmp will not necessarily end in bankruptcy but failure of an IVA may.

    Also, you will probably find that your first year's or so payments are paying the IP provider and not actually clearing your debts, so if the IVA does fail after a year, you will probably find your debts have not reduced at all.

    If you are thinking of going down the IVA route do seek advice from one of the non-profit providers, CAB, CCCS or Payplan who are not out to make money out of you and will recommend in your interests.
    Debt 30k in 2008.:eek::o Cleared all my debt in 2013 and loving being debt free :)
    Mortgage free since 2014 :)
  • I've often wondered the same - I started a DMP with Payplan in October 2005 and my account with them still says i wont be debt-free until december 2016 as I'm only paying £150 a month at the moment but this has just been reduced down from 250 a month as we moved house (rented) and other circumstances have changed etc
    Ive written to all of my creditors over time asking for settlements etc but none seem willing to, so im more than happy to keep paying them all through
    Payplan - albeit for a long time
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.5K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 601.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.6K Life & Family
  • 259.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.