IVA failed before it started - worried sick now

smidge40

i'm a new on here, i have posted on the debt wannabe forum, and have been advised to post on here. I am so worried sick, think i'm about to lose my whole life.

7 years ago i was in real serious debt, which i ran up when in a previous relationship, bank loans, credit cards etc. all the debt is mine. I was accepted for an IVA, paperwork signed, but i never made any payments into it whatsover. Am i regretting now? yes i am. I actually wished i had gone BR as i was on my own then and had nothing to lose.

just after the iva was accepted which was in june/july 2004, i moved into my partners house (aug 2007) (now my wife) it is her mortgage, everything is in her name, apart from SKY and phone bill which i pay for. Although she was aware i was in debt, she thought i was paying it off, however she now thinks i have payed it all off and i'm now debt free. Believe you me i really wish this was the case. I now have to tell her that i am not. I am hoping that our marriage will be strong enough to get thru this, but not so sure, we also have a 5 year old daughter.

However, i have now received a letter from a solicitors firm demanding payment for most of the debt (about 30,000). Not sure how they how they found me, but they did. They gave me a week to pay, or to make a payment plan with them. So far i have not contacted them. I know i have to tell my wife, but getting the courage to do so is killing me.I have kept this all to myself for the last 7 years, not even my parents know of my debt.

Because of the IVA, which i have not paid into and it has been over 6 years can i go the statute barred route. This last communication i had with the iva was when they phoned me to tell me the IVA had been accepted and i had just had to sign the iva paperwork and send it off, which i did thus acknowledging the debt. I am also worried that my wife will be dragged into this and this is not her problem, it is mine. I do not want her to lose her house. I have not contributed towards the mortgage, although i do give her money towards bills etc.
Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. I am at my wits end and i knew this time would come.
Many thanks for taking the time to read.

snicz

Sounds like you're really at your breaking point.

Firstly, if the debt is in your name, your wife is completely safe so don't worry about her involvement financially.

I'm no psychologist but I do know that when you finally tell her, (regardless of her reaction) it will be a huge weight off your shoulders and the first step to facing this secret you've had pulling at your trouser legs.

After that, I suggest speaking to some IP's about where you stand and more importantly, what you can do to tackle it once and for all.

Will be a rocky road but face it head on and you'll be surprised who will stand by you.

Good luck

smidge40

Hi JazzyJeff
thankyou for your reply, the debt is all personnal, i've never had a mortgage myself, i cant remember now on exactly how much, but the letter i got from these solicitors say £30,000 and thats rounded up. They do not say who the creditors are, i can ask for a break down but then i shall be acknowledging the debt.
The wife thinks there is some equity in the property but she has tried to get some out before but was unable to, cause i forgot to mention in my earlier post (sorry) that the house is a share ownership, she actually owns 50% of it the other is with a housing association.

I am trying to build the courage to tell her, but only this morning she asked me if we were ok now, and i stupidly said yes, but got to admit i was shaking like a leaf and changed the conversation very sharply.
I have read about statute barred debts and i am hoping that my debts are now statute barred, not ideal i know, as i know i will never be able to get any credit myself now.
i will listen to any advise and help. many thanks agian.
smidge

smidge40

hey jazzyjeff

thanks for the support.

The firm is fairfax solicitors, i've seen some threads about them, not nice!!!!

there are various websites i think that have templates, i'll bang off a letter to them, and hope for the best. i will tell the wife, but not sure how to go about that bit, its gona hurt her like hell, and i'll have to take the consequences if the worst comes to the worst!!

thanks again
smidge

FavDaughter1

Hi, your post touched a nerve...a few months ago i discovered my husband had got HUGE debts,it was a terrible shock. i tried to pay on my debit card for something ...it failed, then the whole mess came out,it has really rocked me.

the stress has been dreadful,i've felt so shocked,angry and frightened. it has pushed us to breaking point, BUT, we are still together and we are trying to get things sorted out.

i would get yourself set up with a appointment with someone like the C.A.B for some good FREE advise and you need to tell your wife everything,be totally honest,lies will come back on you. be prepared for things to be rocky- understandably so,BUT don't give up.

others will give you more practical help but please tell your wife,do it today. only then can you move forward into getting sorted out.
lots of luck x

dancingfairy

o.k the key questions are what was the status of the IVA:
SMidge said he signed up for the Iva and signed all the paperwork but didn't pay anything. Would he be on an IVA list?
If it transpires that by signing the paperwork he has officially had an IVA does this affect the statue barred ruling?
Obviously if his IVA was never offiically set up as he failed to make the first payment then he can go down the statue barred route.
If he had an IVA that has failed can he still go down the statue barred route?
Smidge - hopefully someone can give details of the IVA register for you to check but in the meantime I suggest you get all 3 of your credit files and also check to see whether you have any CCJ's registered against you - hopefully someone knows how to do this as well. Hopefully you didn't have an IVA and you haven't got any CCJ's but you need to get the ball rolling I think to find out where you stand.
I think I would start by sending the company the prove it letter to prove you owe the debt to give you a little time to investigate. You can then always get back to them and send them the statute barred letter if needs be.
df

Charco_2

Signing an IVA doesn't necessarily affect the right to claim a debt as statute barred it will certainly affect the date at which you could claim for it to be statute barred however.

The original IVA was set-up in June/July 2004, all being well you'd have made a first payment July/August - which you didn't - the IVA SHOULD have been failed within three months (October/November) and so that is when your creditors would have had the right to resume pursuit of the debt from you...

Certain debts become statute barred after six years so for you this would be October/November 2010 - IF your IVA was failed at that time in 2004... certainly bash off Statute Barred letters to parry and thwart the attempts of your creditors. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ACCEPT A DEBT AS BEING OWED.... and finally find out more coz I'm no expert on this!

smidge40

Hi, well i have posted of a statute barred letter this weekend, lets see whats happens. However today i received another letter from them saying that a charge of default noticed is now applied. Now i am even more sick with worry. They are now on about sending an agent round to the house to get payment, i do not want this to happen. If they can do this how long would it be before i get a visit.
I have also found out this debt is for only one creditor (Lloyds tsb), there are others out there so i guess it'll just be a matter of time before before they start chasing me.
The way i feel at the moment, i can only see one wayout, but that will not be far on my wife or daughter.

kaleidoscope

Im so sorry..it sounds like a horrible situation..have you taken any advice from any of the debt charities?

What I would say though is dont let anyone into your home, my understanding is that they have no right to enter your home. If someone turns up, ignore the door or open a window and ask them to leave your property

churchrat

Hello Smidge

can I suggest you post on the dfw board? there are lots of people there who have been in exactly your position, having debts that the partner knows nothing about. There have been lots of threads about how to tell your partner, reactions etc. At the moment, you are having both sides of the conversation inyour head, you are not giving her the opportunity to say how she really feels, you are saying it all for her. What ever happens, your little girl does not care about debt, she will just know that she has a daddy who loves her.

In regard to the agent-- they can only send someone if you do not object in writing. Over on the dfw board someone will be able to pioint you in the direction of the template. They will also know a great deal about statute barred. Please talk to one of the charities, payplan, cccs or cab. CAG are very good, although they do not have bases all around the country.

good luck with all of this.
I well remember the stomach-churning-sleep-depriving-nightmare-giving-self-loathing-embarrasment-shame of it all. you are not the only one to be in this position and you are far from the last.

churchrat