IVA and bank account?

Catchymonkey

Hi all,
We are in the early stages of looking into an IVA. We have 3 credit cards and a personal loan but no bank overdraft. In this situation will we still need to open a basic bank account somewhere or is there no reason not to continue with the accounts we have? None of the outstanding debt is with the bank that provides our 2 current accounts.

Also could someone point us in the direction of a SOA template so that we can get some advice on the budget figures we are preparing?

Many thanks in advance

Catchymonkey

Anyone know the answer to this? Have been searching and can't find any info.

TIA

FoggyBrain_2

Hi Catchymonkey. I am sure someone more knowledgable will happen along soon (busy time of year offline). On the bank account issue, as you so rightly surmise, many change bank accounts to avoid links to creditors ( you would be surprised how many finaancial bodies are linked in the background! ). However, if you are sure there are no links, there is the thorney problem of some banks shutting accounts once they realise you are in an IVA ---- you will fail their usual credit scoring profiles! Even giving you a cheque book is a risk in their eyes! So, to ensure continuity, if nothing else, it's best to go for a basic account somewhere like the Co-Op. I am afraid there are no hard and fast rules here, many banks happily leave some IVA'ers on the books whilst shutting off others!

As for a SOA ---- There are probably better out there, but I used the online calculator on the CCCS website. It doesn't give guidelines as to amounts as such, but will prompt you if you enter a figure they consider too high. Bottom line is to be honest with the figures to get a realistic picture.

Best of luck with it.

Catchymonkey

Many thanks for taking the time to respond. That all makes sense so we shall start looking at basic accounts.

Cheers again

FavDaughter1

hi, we went with The Co Op, it was very easy,we filled forms in the branch took photo id in with us,it was very easy,no questions(i felt like we had IVA written all over us, LOL!) the account numbers &cards came through very quickly. we've found them helpful when we ring or go into branch.

doing this at the very start of everything was one of the best pieces of advice we've had. thankyou everyone!

james32_uk

Hi Catchy,

A basic bank account shouldnt be too hard to find. However there's nothing to stop you applying for a full current account if you are not yet in your IVA. I did this with Lloyds literally just as I was sending the paperwork back and I got an account with debit card and cheque book etc. At the time my credit record was not totally screwed through as I was reasonably uptodate with repayments. It's important that you dont have an overdraft though as this is against IVA rules.

FoggyBrain_2

I did the same with NatWest --- no OD fracility though. Am frightened to use it in case they suddenly close it on me !!!! So sticking with the Co-op for now.