any advice on iva over b/r???? please?????

summer19

Hello,

I have posted on the iva site, me and my husband are in around £50k debt, we have 1 wage of around £2000 to £2200 a month as I suffer from m.e so dont work, we have 2 kids and a morgage of £141,000. What I really need advice on is we have spoke to a company about our debt and they memtioned a iva, since then i have been thinking about b/r, but I am not really sure what would be better for us, this situation is making my illness much worse and i am not sleeping at all, all I want is it sorted out if anyone has any pros cons advice on the 2 i would be very gratefull.

Many thanks.xxx

dojoman

Try and speak to one of the debt charities, links below, they should be able to help,

https://www.cccs.co.uk/
https://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Sunnylooloo

Hi I agree with dojoman you have to speak to someone first.

I have spoke with all of the above listed, and you will really get good advice. Just be honest about what you have and they will guide you.

I am still very undecided but I do know by coming on here you will get some great support as well which in time like this is very much needed.

It is a scary situation to be in, but be aware you are not alone.

Take care and I wish you well

LL
X

summer19

Thanks for your responses, I have spoke to cccs, and they just told me to send a £1 postal order to all my creditors which I did, I keep phoning them to get advice and they just say u have to wait to see what they all say, I just want this all sorted it is mai=aking my illness so bad and to the point that I cant cope with it,i AM NOT SLEEPING its horrible.xx

dojoman

I`m sorry that you are not being much help but forget them and try the other 2, hopefully you should get more help and advice from one of them. Do you have any assets to lose, ie: house or car?

Sunnylooloo

Hi Summer

as someone who is quite new here I can't be of much help, but if you read some old posts you may pick up some advice. Have you been to your local CAB? I really found the National Debt Helpline helpful too.

I am really unsure myself what to do, and I know those sleepless nights too, and I am so sorry it is making you ill.

Please just realise you are not alone in this situation and people you speak to will have heard similiar situations.

I don't know if it would help in anyway to post up your SOA for someone "in the know" to have alook at. I posted mine up and it helped, although I am a long way in deciding which way to turn it just helped me having it all written down.

At the moment I am making reduced payments to my creditors, something I arranged on my own, so although interest is still being applied no late fees are and I am paying something off, this is only a short term solution and I know once these short term agreements are up I will have to start again, but at least I am coping for the time being.

Please don't despair!

LL
x

confused76

hi have you tried the national debt helpline? i spoke to them and they were really helpful, sent me info about my options..

as other posters have said, you're not alone and most people on this board are where you are now, or have been in the past. things can and will get better.

best advice i can give is to ring national debt helpline, and read up on posts here - knowledge is power and all that!

Doucam

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Echo what the others say, best thing is to speak to the debt charities, however....

Hubby and I went to the CAB, and found it pretty uselessl, I had sat for weeks reading and rereading the stickies here and threads, and knew a lot about BR, she didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, and in one instance I actually corrected her on something she said!!

Having said that, we were at least able to honestly tell the judge that yes we had taken advice, but I omitted to say that we had got a lot more from this place! ;-)

Try not to worry too much about stuff, we didn't go down the token payment route, as we decided to go BR and couldn't see the point, especially as in one case we had offered £150 for that month and they had said it wasn't enough, we knew the £1 wouldn't cut it!!

This is a stressful time but you have come to the right place, keep posting xx

Tinytim

Hi Summer,

Only you can make the decision, and as the others have said, do seek advice from one or all of the debt charities.

My own personal view is that BR is often a better option than an IVA unless you have equity in a property you wish to protect, buy to let properties you want to hang on to, or you are employed in an occupation such as a solicitor, accountant, financial adviser etc where BR is not allowed. If you declare BR, you may be able to hold onto your main residence if it is in negative equity, but all other properties and non-exempt assets would be disposed of; an IVA can protect assets.

However, in almost all other aspects, and IVA compares badly to BR. -

Under an IVA you will pay 100% of your surplus income for a period of five years, and the calculation of surplus income will be very tight. Under BR, you will pay a maximum of 70% of your surplus income for a period of three years (but only if you have a large surplus). Many people pay just 50% of their surplus, and if your monthly surplus is less than £100, you will pay nothing at all. The calculation of surplus income under BR is more generous under BR, so that you are able to maintain a sustainable lifestyle without resorting to credit. It will be tight, but do-able.

If your circumstances change, it is relatively easy to arrange for your payments under BR to be adjusted up or down. If they are adjusted down, the three years is not extended. Under an IVA it can be notoriously difficuly to reduce your payments if circumstances change, and the administrators/creditors often seek to increase payments if they can. There have been instances of people paying into IVA's for four years, only to have them fail in the last year because of a change in circumstances.

As far as your credit rating is concerned, many lenders (especially with mortgages) consider an IVA to be as bad as BR, and the normal criteria is to consider an application three years or longer after discharge or completion (most are six years). With BR, three years after discharge is in four years time, but with an IVA, three years after completion is in eight years time.

IVA's are shown alongside BR on the insolvency register, so people can find out about them just as easily.

There are a few minor irritations with BR that don't always apply with an IVA, but that is not always certain. When BR you will be restricted to a basic bank account with Co-op or Barclays. You may find difficulty when replacing home or motor insurance, or being able to pay monthly for things like breakdown cover. You are likely to be very limited on mobile phone contracts, unless you have one already.

Lastly BR does place some restrictions which could be embarrasing. In addition to not being allowed to be a company director or MP, you are not permitted to be a trustee of a charity. This means if you are on the PTA at the school, you may have to resign.

Hopefully this has provided a few pointers, but it is important to take advice