IVA First yr check coming up, advise needed.

max_pug

Hi there people I'm after some advise if at all possible.

My yearly meeting is about to come up for the first time and I have a few questions regarding it.

My situation had changed, when I first went into my IVA I was sharing with freind and as such my rent was only at £320 per mnth. However he has now moved out and hasn't been living with me since Dec 09 and as such my rent has gone upto £575 ( its just me living and paying for everything). I have spoke to my account supervisour about this but all I keep getting back is "we will put it to them in the meeting in March" and "we can drop it 15% but thats all".
TBH I find that this really isn't good enough, they gave me a budget to live too when I went into this and I have tried my best to stick with it but am finding that trying to find an extra £255 per mnth is a real struggle and they do not seem keen on lowering my payments or going to my creditors before the March meeting. i have had to start borrowing money from parents to get thru the month and don't feel this is the correct way to be going.
They have also just informed me that by decreasing my IVA by 15% that it has now been exteneded a further 9mnth!!!

My questions are, What can I do with regards to this??
What happens if the creditors don't accept my new SOA??
And if the worset happens and I need to declare BR, how would I go about this??

Thank u all for your time.

Charco_2

Well, the first thing is, IT'S YOUR IVA, you can insist that it is run the way you need it. So tell them you can't wait until March for this meeting (whatever it is!?), you're £255 a month behind NOW.

You IP is just the "referee" at this stage of your IVA, they have the discretion to reduce you payments by 15% without having to call a new creditor's meeting. They seem to be wanting to delay you until March until your review date - this does not involve a creditors meeting but it seems you're going to need one because £255 must be A LOT MORE than 15% of your payments! So insist that they do their job now!

You can even insist that you don't want the IVA extended by 9 months, you want the new creditor's meeting to consider your offer for the remaining 48 months only. I wouldn't recommend this, i'm highlighting the balance of power here! But don't just accept that 9 months is a foregone conclusion, make sure it's understood that hat is your "sweetener" for the fact that your contributions are going to fall.

£255 is likely to be a huge part of your monthly contribution however, how much would you be able to offer your creditors realistically now? Would Bankruptcy be a better option for you now anyway?

Your IVA Company aren't doing anything wrong exactly - they're actually a bit "by the book" - but it feels like you just want a bit better customer service, have things explained better to you. Who is your company if you don't mind?

I'm sure your company will explain bankruptcy to you if things go pear shaped, or the BR thread on here will be able to help.

max_pug

Firstly thank you for your reply.

And yes your right, £255 is alot more than what I can afford, and more than the 15% that I wouldn't need to go to the creditors for. I have said over and over again to them that I cannot afford this but they keep coming back with that they don't want to go to the creditors yet as it would then restrict me later in the IVA if my situations chanage again.

Thank you for the advice on the extension, I'm planning on writing a letter to go with my statement saying that unless arrangements can be made for lower payments then I will have no choice but to go BR as £255 is way over what I can afford. I may also include that I would rather not do 9mnths, can we come to an arragement like, if you lower my payments then maybe I can extend the agreement.

And better customer service would be great, there has been a number of times that I have had to chase then with regards to paperwork, and have had to be on the phone again this morning to get the right paperwork sent to me again. Company in question is Blair Endersby.

And I have looked on the bakruptcy boards, but am a little unsure as to how I would go about this process now. Do I just not pay the payments for a time and then they take the action nessassery???

Thanks for your time.

Charco_2

It's unlikely that your IP will pursue your bankruptcy.

It is going to cost money to pursue your Bankruptcy so your IP will say to your creditors MR MAX-PUG HAS PAID MONEY TOWARDS HIS DEBTS BUT IS NOW STOPPING. DO YOU WANT ME TO GO THROUGH THE COURTS TO PURSUE BANKRUPTCY OR DO YOU WANT ME TO DISPERSE THE AVAILABLE FUNDS AMONG YOU?
Your creditors are unlikely to want to spend their money freeing you from debt when they can simply collect the money due and then pursue you for the rest!

If you want to look into bankruptcy then go ahead, might be worth asking BE if they'll discuss it with you - but i wouldn't stop there. Speak to a number of sources like the BR board and CAB and anybody else.

If it was me I'd keep on at B&E until you get a suitable response. Ask for a payment holiday for a three months until you can get a new tenant in to split the rent with! Then tell them it's not a request - you simply CANNOT afford the current payments and you refuse to keep paying if it's just going to result in bankruptcy in a few months anyway. Save the money in the meantime for your bankruptcy just in case.

The thing they've mentioned about restricting you if your circumstances change again later is a crock of sheeeite! If your circumstances changed 10 times over the course of five years then you'd have the right to ask for this be looked at properly every time (although they might think you're taking the mick!) - it's up to the creditors to accept or reject the changes, not B&E.

Choo_Choo_4

I think Charco has given you sound advice there Max-Pug ... ask for the payment break anyway and especially if BE are unwilling to lower your payments ... by insisting on the agreed monthly contribution to continue they're basically tempting you to get credit elsewhere to cover your IVA payment which would be detrimental to IVA.

Borrowing from your parents isn't an option either while I'm sure they don't mind a month or two this is not a long term solution nor one that they can afford either I'm sure ...

If BE are unwilling to come to aa suitable arrangement (lower payments/payment break) then you should consider stopping payments and putting the extra aside for bankruptcy petition - if they don't work WITH you this may end up inevitable anyway ...