To IVA or not to IVA??

carosel

Okay I'm new and confused!! We have been advised by 3 different companies to either go for bankruptcy or an IVA because of our debt situation. We are near to choosing one for an IVA, they seemed OK but I have read so many conflicting reports on the forums that I'm sort of panicking!! Our discussion meeting is at the end of March to decide what to do. Basically we have no equity in our house, we owe £79K in debts - I have a good salary and hubby is self employed. We have been stupid, no doubt about that - but now realise at 54 that we should really do something about it! Thing is we started a new business Sept last year which hasn't really taken off until this week! It's a training company and all of a sudden organisations want our courses. But because we don't know if this sudden takeoff will stay that way we are reluctant to tell our company in case they add that into the mix and the situation could change 2 months later.
Hubby says not to declare but frankly I am terrified!:eek:

FoggyBrain_2

Not declaring could be a major mistake -- I appreciate the temptations, but if you got found out a couple of years into the IVA it could be failed and you'd be back to square one. I have a PAYE job as well as a part - time self employed post (well, two actually). One is reasonably stable with a constant, but low income. This one has been included in our regular income and will be reviewed at the end of each year as part of the usual reviews. The other is far more lucrative, but might be one or two jobs one month and none the next. This one is being treated as extra income ( like overtime) and I pay half of this income at the end of each month there is work coming in.

It would be a foolhardy IP who includes unguaranteed income as "standard", as this is just asking for the IVA to fail if it's not based on solid foundations.

I would still speak to a couple of other companies -- be totally upfront and see what they say. Have a look at https://www.iva.com for a list of reputable companies (with reviews). Advice is free, impartial and with no commitment to carry on.

carosel

Thanks for that - I agree with you. I have been having another look at different threads and I think we would be silly not to declare an 'extra' earnings. The company we are about to sign with is Payplan - they have been very good so far we have our first meeting end of March. I just want to get into a steady payment plan as I have been losing sleep over this for months.

FoggyBrain_2

Once you get settled into the budgetting routine it will get easier. Strangley, we have more money left at the end of the month now. Before IVA we had more month left at the end of the money !!!

katiemay_2

Please ... only speak to the companies recommended on this website. I believe they are CCCS and National Debtline. All of the others are for-profit companies who have a vested (financial) interest in persuading you to go for an IVA or whatever option will make money for them. From personal experience I would recommend CCCS, they really have sorted my life out.

FoggyBrain_2

Katiemay -- if you dig a little deeper, you will discover that the "not for profit" companies get the same fees as the "profit" companies (around 15% of realisations, as agreed with creditors) -- they just like to call them donations. I am pleased that CCCS has worked for you, and they do sterling work, but that does not mean the other companies out there are bad profiteering organisations after a fast buck.

I found CCCS pursued me relentlessly after my first enquiry and I went for a "for profit" company. They advised me the best route for me was BR ( which would have earned them about £450), my alternatives were, first IVA ( which would earn them around £6000 (same as CCCS would have got) last was DMP (which would have earned them around £10,000). So they actually advised me to take the route that would earn them the least!

katiemay_2

FoggyBrain wrote: »

Katiemay -- if you dig a little deeper, you will discover that the "not for profit" companies get the same fees as the "profit" companies (around 15% of realisations, as agreed with creditors) -- they just like to call them donations. I am pleased that CCCS has worked for you, and they do sterling work, but that does not mean the other companies out there are bad profiteering organisations after a fast buck.

I found CCCS pursued me relentlessly after my first enquiry and I went for a "for profit" company. They advised me the best route for me was BR ( which would have earned them about £450), my alternatives were, first IVA ( which would earn them around £6000 (same as CCCS would have got) last was DMP (which would have earned them around £10,000). So they actually advised me to take the route that would earn them the least!

I am speaking from 6-month old advice from this site when I first had to choose an IVA provider, and it is great that things have changed. What can I say ... it was the right choice for me, although maybe not for everyone.

Just to clarify though - the fee CCCS charged me was £1849 in total, nowhere near £6000, although obviously still more than £450

FoggyBrain_2

I think the whole IVA industry is improving now -- you see some real horror stories on here and other forums about older IVA's. Yes, there is a difference between teh £1849 you were charged and the £6000 it is costing me. However, yours was a one off and so equates well to the portion of my fee that is for the preparation of the proposal (Nominees fee) which was £1850. The rest of the £6k is supervisors fees and is spread over 5 years, managing the payments. These figures were suggested at the creditors meeting by the creditors and seem to be becoming the industry standard.