Completed IVA - My Experience

fortun8

I have read a lot of concerned posts on here regarding IVAs so thought I would share my experience.

Due to various reasons I had spiralling debt, I was (and still am!) married and a homeowner. I found myself swapping money around various credit cards to pay bills so that I never missed a payment. It got to such a point that I was running out of credit to do this.

I contacted Debt Free Direct (saw it on TV) and gave them all my details and they recommended an IVA. This was before I realised about this board and the many other options (some cheaper!) to do.

The biggest advice I was given was to just stop paying all your unsecured debt, your going to get defaults on your account so there is no point in continuing to pay, even if you have previously never missed a payment!. I was under the deluded impression that not missing a payment would count for something, it doesn't.

If you get phone calls (as I did) just state you are in the process sorting out an IVA and that your IP will be in contact soon and politely ask they direct all contact with them. Doesn't always work, but just don't let yourself get worked up.

The day of my creditor meeting was very nervous, but I got the call from the IP and they stated it had been accepted and I was now in an IVA. I had changed my bank account to a Natwest current account (without overdraft) and had payments taken from this account. I thought this would be fine as I had no debt with Natwest. HOWEVER, about a year later they froze my account (in credit!) as they stated I was in an IVA and not entitled to the account. To top it off, they would not release MY MONEY to me until I got the IP to fax Natwest asking them to release the money to me.

After a lot of running around I opened an ABBEY Basic account, no credit checks, just an account, cash card (not debit) but has online banking and ability for Direct Debits etc. I still use the account to this day! You get used to dealing with cash lol

One bonus of an IVA is that you get used to no credit/overdraft and generally being more organised with your money. Don't get me wrong, it is hard being in an IVA and accounting for every penny, but it is worth it in the end.

As I had equity in my property I arranged a remortgage about 2 years into the IVA and made a final offer of around 39p in the pound, which was accepted and I exited the IVA. RELEIF!

What was left to do was send letters to experian/equifax/call credit sending them copies of my completion information and getting all of my defaults shown as satisfied.

It has now been 6yrs 2 months since my defaults and I have a clean credit report. I did not miss a payment on my mortgage, secured loan or my Argos Card (I deliberatley kept out of the IVA to have some credit for house emergencies!). I only started using the Argos card a little after the IVA and paying off the balance.

I have now completed a "Soft check" on Moneysupermarket to get a feel for what my credit report is like and it says my rating is excellent! I have also just been accepted for a Barclaycard Platinum which I will use sensibly for ease of payments online (I still have not applied for a debit card current account as like my basic account!!).

So the moral of this long winded ramblings is there is hope, it may not seem like it at the time but it gets better!! I hope this helps reassure some of you worried about the whole process.

Cheers, Mat.

DrowninginDebt

Hey Fortun8, congratulations on surviving the IVA!
I am 2 months into mine (groan!) and just trying to get used to cash instead of producing a little plastic card each time lol
I had my current account with First Direct for 16 years, unblemished until just before I entered the IVA, dipping £250 into the previously unused overdraft of £750 but they are now closing my account so would not recommend First Direct in future!
Thanks for sharing your experiences - it gives us all hope!
Happy shopping!

gscrym

Fortun8, it was almost like you were writing about me there. I was in the same position and had to get a trust deed. It was when 2 of my CC providers halved my credit limits that brought the whole lot crashing down and I now wish that a] I hadn't got into that position and b] I had entered a trust deed sooner than the spiral of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I'm 9 months away from completing my trust deed. Can't believe how quickly it has gone and that this time next year, I can keep any bonuses I get. It's encouraging to hear you're back on track.

Raybfc321

Congrats to you for getting your finances back on track and i'm sure a huge weight has been lifted from you.

I'm calling the CCC's tonight and hopefully going to start the ball rolling with an IVA but what worries me is that what happens if I stop paying my creditors and the IVA doesn't get agreed after the 2 months, this would put you in a real messy position??

Scary stuff this IVA business, especially messy having to change banks after so long with Lloyds

fortun8

Thanks all, it is a relief to be back to normal!

Raybfc321 wrote: »

Congrats to you for getting your finances back on track and i'm sure a huge weight has been lifted from you.

I'm calling the CCC's tonight and hopefully going to start the ball rolling with an IVA but what worries me is that what happens if I stop paying my creditors and the IVA doesn't get agreed after the 2 months, this would put you in a real messy position??

Scary stuff this IVA business, especially messy having to change banks after so long with Lloyds

I asked the same thing when I was going through my approvals for the IVA, but the advice I kept getting was they will accept it as they would rather have something back than go bankrupt and have very little.

But if they don't then it doesn't stop you speaking to the CCCs directly and negotiating a payment plan, they will usually freeze the interest and accept token payments. And in most cases will accept a "Settlement Offer" to pay back a certain amount to pay off your debt.


Something extra I remembered: A lot of my debt was sold on to debt recovery firms. This is nothing to worry about as it just means the debt changes on your credit report to this company. They just sent me a letter saying they now own the debt and they would deal with the IP directly. I didn't get any chasing calls or letters from this company.

If anyone has any questions I'll do my best to answer from my experiences! (My experience may not be the same for everyone, so please check with your IP or CAB if unsure).

Raybfc321

Many Thanks for the quick response Fortun8

katiemay_2

Hi, I completed my one-time IVA a few weeks ago. My question is how do I get to the "soft" credit check from Money Supermarket that you mention in your post? I can't see anything on the site. Thanks.