Early stages of IVA worries

Moi_63

Hi.

We are in the early stages of setting up an IVA via CCCSVA but are really worried about how to make token payments to our creditors while waiting to get things on track.

We have our second telephone meeting with the CCCSVA IP next Friday but we have bills due before then.

My husband rang the Co-Op to try and find out his personal loan account number and sort code, he was told 'we don't accept token payments'. So he rang back and explained he was trying to set up an alternative method of payment and needed the account number and sort code (no mention of token payments) and he got them.

He is also worried that he had a current account with them (which he no longer uses) and they may 'force' him into an unauthorised overdraft if they deduct this month's full payment. Has anyone got any idea what would happen then?

I know it is early stages but everything is so confusing at the moment.

We were going to make payments based on a DMP proposal but have been advised to pay each creditor the same amount, which we are doing at the amount on 10.00 per creditor (11 creditors).

We are sitting here with two postal orders at 10.00 each and scratching our heads as to how the hell to fill them out

bluerhino6

I am in the same position as you. I was advised to cancel all my direct debits to 7 creditors and to write letters offering a token payment of £10 each. Debit Free Direct also advised me that by law they have to accept your token payment as long as it is over £1.

Please dont quote me on this as I said I am in exactly the same position as you..... shall I cancel or not?

Moi_63

Do you put a SoA in with your letter? I've heard arguments for and against so now I have no idea what to do. Also, have you paid any by postal order?

It is a scary time. My husband had to pop into his old bank today to make token payments on x2 credit cards and x1 store card. He said he was so worried about being confronted about our situation but everything was fine.

bluerhino6

I did put an SOA in all of mine explaining my situation and what steps I am taking. I have not sent any method of payment as yet. I am just waiting for a reply first.

plummer_in_van

Hi, we are at the very early stages of IVA,have just sent all our accounts into the CCCSVA to get sorted out.

We have sent a token payment(chq) to all our creditors as they become due with a covering letter just outlining we are in the process of applying for a IVA through the CCCS and quoting our CCCS ref No.

So far so good, the first two cheques have been cashed. I did phone them about us making token payments and dealing with the CCCS and they were really nice about it.

We have changed our phone number but we have been making sure that all the creditors are aware of whats going on.

If i do get anybody on the other end of the phone trying to talk to me like a bit of dirt then they WILL get cut of , simple as that.

If you do get any letters that arent very nice than give the CCCS a ring and im sure they will have the answer as to how to deal with it.

With us we have tried very very hard to keep our heads above the water but i could see it was not going to be poss for ever and i felt that it was much better to start the ball rolling with the IVA than to get months and months behind with everything and than decide to start it.

YES i know its not easy looking at what you have spent and how much you owe but until you have that light bulb moment than things will probley not get any better.

So sure we are nervous wondering if we will get the IVA but having spent hours and hours reading all the different sites about it i felt it was the way to go.

Will let you know how things work out as we go along. Have a look at the IVA site .co.uk site ,they have loads of info regarding IVA's.

Good luck

althas

I just simply cancelled all payments to my creditors and wrote to them explaining that I was seeking professional help from an IP and asked them to bear with me. Most wrote back and said they would allow a little time to hear from the IP

I sent no payments at all. I was advised by my IP though that if I was to send anything, then I could not favour one creditor over another. So if I send £5 to one, it was £5 to each one irrespective of the amount I owed. I thought it simpler to send nothing

backhoe

Am 3 months into my IVA and at the start did the same as althas. I was advised not to pay anyone anything so as not to favour one over the other. Explained when they called what I was doing and they were fine (altho that didn't stop them phoning every other day!!).

Once proposal was in place the sense of relief was amazing. Hope all goes OK for you.

3431Anna

My husband's debt management company have suggested that he goes down the IVA route he has bee on his DMP for about 8 months they have said that his creditors will stop applying interest to his accounts and his debts will be cleared quicker he thinks this is the best option for him but i am still very worried any advice would be appreciated

Charco_2

For my tuppence-worth, a DMP is a short-term solution to allow you to get a handle on things again... you certainly don't want it to be a life sentence which in many cases it is!

If you think your situation is going to improve or if you can use the little repreive that a DMP will give you to really make a dent in your debts then go for it... However if you there's no reason to believe that your circumstances will change for the better (better job/more hours/pay increase or even dependant children getting their own jobs, if you're moving to a smaller house, smaller mortgage/rent etc) then it is worth considering the benefits that an IVA is offer. It's is not a decision to be taken lightly but when compared to a DMP of ten or so years (or more) then it's ceretainloy a more attractive prospoect.

As for the original poster asking about token payments, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Especially if a company says they dont take token payments... that's great, tell them they wont get any token payments then!

Some people offer £10, some people offer £5... some people offer nothing at all! Once you know you are going to pursue an IVA it wont matter that much anyway. The people who receive your token payments are so far removed from the people who will decide whether to accept or reject your IVA it's not even funny. Your token payment will vanish into a computer somewhere and the people who will puruse your IVA will actually work in a different company (most likely TIX - The Insolvency Xchange or a large Accountancy Practice like KPMG or PWC... you token payment means nothing to them.

If it is going to take a few months before your IVA is in place then offer token payments but if it's going to be a few weeks you're better off saving your £10ers for later in your IVA when an emergancy might occur!

3431Anna

Charco wrote: »

For my tuppence-worth, a DMP is a short-term solution to allow you to get a handle on things again... you certainly don't want it to be a life sentence which in many cases it is!

If you think your situation is going to improve or if you can use the little repreive that a DMP will give you to really make a dent in your debts then go for it... However if you there's no reason to believe that your circumstances will change for the better (better job/more hours/pay increase or even dependant children getting their own jobs, if you're moving to a smaller house, smaller mortgage/rent etc) then it is worth considering the benefits that an IVA is offer. It's is not a decision to be taken lightly but when compared to a DMP of ten or so years (or more) then it's ceretainloy a more attractive prospoect.

As for the original poster asking about token payments, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Especially if a company says they dont take token payments... that's great, tell them they wont get any token payments then!

Some people offer £10, some people offer £5... some people offer nothing at all! Once you know you are going to pursue an IVA it wont matter that much anyway. The people who receive your token payments are so far removed from the people who will decide whether to accept or reject your IVA it's not even funny. Your token payment will vanish into a computer somewhere and the people who will puruse your IVA will actually work in a different company (most likely TIX - The Insolvency Xchange or a large Accountancy Practice like KPMG or PWC... you token payment means nothing to them.

If it is going to take a few months before your IVA is in place then offer token payments but if it's going to be a few weeks you're better off saving your £10ers for later in your IVA when an emergancy might occur!

If my husbands creditors didn't accept his IVA proposal wold he just be able to carry on as things are now with his DMP

althas

That would be totally down to the creditors. The thing with a DMP is it is a 100% INFORMAL agreement between you and them. They can (if they are generous) stop interest and charges etc, but at the drop of a hat, they can start it that again

The IVA is an iron clad legally binding agreement. So they can not do anything (presuming the IVA is agreed)

As Charco said, it is not a decision to take lightly (although some companies advertising would have you believe otherwise). So a long look at the future on what you know now might be a good way to go, then talk to some IP's, see what they say, then sit with your husband and talk it over