Seriously considering the IVA path

mtgg

"Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgg
There can be light at the end of the tunnel!
I do hope there is light at the end of the tunnel Clare. At the moment we only pay £140 towards credit as we are on the debt management plan with the CCCS, but that £140 is not enough to clear the debts, it will take many years and I don't know how long people will accept such payments.

I really feel like giving up and walking away because life just aint worth it anymore. I'm working long hours for nothing and the whole situation is putting me under a lot of stress. Just got to find someone independent to go through it all with me, tell me all the pros and cons and then I can decide if it’s for us."

Hi Lisa

My husband & I were in a really bad place financially - I thought life was not worth it; I also had a miscarriage at the same time as the IVA was going through (I believe through stress).

We went to a company called Gregory Pennington and this was then passed to Freeman Jones who we have been dealing with since.
It has NOT been easy, but we have always known that after 5/6yrs it would be over.
We could not go bankrupt as I work for my mortgage provider in the financial industry, so an IVA was our only option. The only people that know about our IVA is our parents, we have kept in from friends etc and no one has ever been none the wiser.

Please seek some independant advise, It's NOT easy, but you Can get there!

Send me a message if I can help in any way.

Kindest Regards
Clare

ste_coxy

lisa701 wrote: »

I'm also considering the IVA route but I'm getting mixed views from people and really need some impartial advice.

Currently got £28,000 in debts which there is no chance of me clearing. They certainly didnt start at this amount but incorrect advice and delays in processing stuff lead them to grow.

Before I was made redundant in 2006 I tried the CAB but they would not offer me any debt advice as it was only open to unemployed people? Went to the CCCS who suggested a debt management plan but its clear that on my current wages the amount I can pay is not going to clear the debt for a long time if at all.

They suggested we sell our house to clear debts but after looking into the figures we would be unable to sell for enough to clear our mortgage and associated selling fees, let alone have anything left over to clear debts. This would leave us homeless and with more debt than the original £28,000.

I just don't know where to turn to for advice.

I'm surprised that CAB were refusing to help you - is there any other local branches in your area? was the one you went to an outreach centre?

I am not sure whether selling your home is the best idea because as you say you wouldn't have enough to pay the debt off anyway.

Have you consulted Payplan at all - http://www.payplan.com/who-are-payplan.php - i've found them particularly useful before.

Also try: www.nationaldebtline.co.uk http://www.debtadvicefoundation.org/ http://www.sterlingtrust.org.uk/

all of these are charities so they are not out to make profit and don't have a hidden agenda.

ste_coxy

Max_1066 wrote: »

Re Ste_Coxy you really need to talk this through with someone such as the CAB or CCCS. The latter would be useful to get your SOA straight as there seem to be several items missing (gas & elec) and a few items appear quite high (entertaining & medical).

I recently completed an IVA and the best way to start was by cutting up all my cards, its just too tempting. Good luck, there's plenty of good advice available on this forum to help you.

p.s. if you already have a default on your credit file it's already been damaged I'm afraid.

I have tried payplan yesterday but i think i am going to try CCCS too - it's harder to try CAB as I work full time in the day so getting into their offices are hard. The entertainment was an idealistic amount I wished to retain however, I know if I intend to get things sorted that this needs to be reduced vastly. The medical is a fixed payment for laser eye surgery - it will be finished with next july :T

I did really consider an IVA however, I do not know if i'd qualify anyway as I am just about managing to meet all of my creditors at the amounts needed plus it would then mean defaulting on 4 creditors and then the whole 6 year thing to get rid of would start again whereas now i am 2 years into a default and this will be got rid of in 4 years time.

I am in the process of getting a 2nd job and this will give me more income to put towards debts so hopefully I will not have to go down the path of IVA or even DMP.

I've found that snowballing thing on www.makesenseofcards.com really useful and empowering the fact it gives you how many months you will be debt free - i obviously realise that it means you have to stick to that budget over the course of the time however, it definitely gives me the motivation to start it.

Lisa101 - don't allow this to overwhelm you because if you do what i've been doing until now (burying my head in the sand about things) then it will only worsen. we will get there in the end :beer:

chuckles_le_roy

mtgg wrote: »

There can be light at the end of the tunnel!

My husband & I had unsecured debt of £86k(13 credit cards/store cards) in 2005 and when we went into the IVA, we had not missed any payments. But, we were living off credit & borrowing off peter to pay Paul in a big way.
We have been paying £498 each month & have paid back 25p in the £.
I work in the financial industry & have a mortgage with my employer! So bankruptcy was not an option.
We also had No equity in our property.

Our IVA finished on Oct 4th after our 5yrs - It has been hard, but we are looking fwd to our October salary, which will be ours & no debt apart from our mortgage & secured loan.
For us our IVA has helped us start a new life - We are just waiting for our completion certificate & can now start to get our credit record clear in then next 12/18mths.

IVA's are not right for everyone, but for us it has now left us debt free after 5yrs.

Kind Regards
Clare :j

All I can say is think long and hard.. I finished mine in 2009 after what seemed like an eternity, but the relief of being in COMPLETE control of my money after years of cold sweats and hiding bills. I managed to rack up £38k in unsecured loans and cc's. Although I kept up the interest payments, i was paying one off with the other. Prior to divorce all the payments were fine with a joint income, then once we split I just couldn't cope.
Like clare, I've a new life and am so conscious of all expediture now.
i have the cert and checked all the ref agencies. I have and excellent credit rating now!!!
Becareful my creditors which included lloyds Tsb and nationwide all agreed 27p in the pound which amounted to 300 p/m plus any windfalls. any extra money earned was paid to them at 50%.
Be realistic in your budgeting as any shortfalls can't be changed until the next review which should
:jbe annually with your IVA supervisor.
oh and the company will charge a big dollop on top.
Best of luck it it will only get better now you've had your LBM