iva/bankrupcy

j_d_2-2

do i have enough debt to go bankrupt? is there a minimum etc. and what are the realistic price increases in an iva?

j_d_2-2

do iva's often get accepted at there proposed figure eg mine at 200pm upping to 315? and if my mortgage goes down by 200pm would all that extra contribute? i was approached by harrington brooks and quoted 500pm plus 1000 set up fee which works out way more than my debts!! and another company somewhere in the middle of both of these how do they vary so much? i went to national debt line they was totally un realistic with my expenses a 2 adult, soon to be next month 3 children household an opposed paying 650pm on a dmp and did not recomend an iva at all yet bankruptcy if i struggled with dmp.

neil277

FoggyBrain wrote: »

Neil. Hi ---- all ( yes, ALL) IVA companies charge fees (how else would they operate?). If you found one that didn't charge they would get crushed in the stampede for their services!!! CCCS and Payplan are run as charity organisations ... yet still get much the same fees as any other IVA company. All such fees are agreed between the IP and the creditors and effectively come out of the dividend and so are not paid seperately by the debtor.

Admittedly, there are a few rogue companies who will charge up front fees and do very little ( if anything) for the money .... these are DMP companies, and are slowly being forced out of the business. IP's, on the other hand, are highly trained and highly regulated.

Hi
I would like Martin Lewis to comment on this subject reason why he always states on TV to keep away from IVA Companies who charge a fee. CAB Best Choice

neil277

j_d wrote: »

do i have enough debt to go bankrupt? is there a minimum etc. and what are the realistic price increases in an iva?

You can go BR the choice is yours

neil277

judojub wrote: »

Just to clarify. There are many IVA companies out there that do not charge initially. Of course they have to earn a living and their fees would be taken from your monthly IVA contribution. I personally would avoid companies that want fees upfront!

You are adding more debt to your debt which is wrong talk to the company or companies and sort the problem yourself

FoggyBrain_2

I haven't heard a lot of good things about Harrington Brooks, personally I would avoid them. IVA's are rarely rejected these days, after all the IP puts in a lot of work, and won't run with something that won't get accepted ---- it has to be accepted for him to get his fees! They vary largely because of the differing ways they assess your disposable income and the allowances they will allow.

As for working them out yourself there is a handy guide here: http://www.beatmydebt.com/consumer-debt-solutions/living-expenses-guide.htm (pdf halfway down the page on the left).

I have a lot of time for Melanie Giles and Michael Peoples ... might be worth having a word with either of them

FoggyBrain_2

Neil .. CAB will hand you over to Grant Thornton (guess what .. they charge fees). Martin is referring to those companies I alluded to in my last paragraph.

You are not adding more debt at all. Take my IVA for instance. Debt of £59k ... dividend payable over the life of the IVA £25k (including fees as agreed by the creditors themselves), so we are looking to potentially write off £29k .... looks to me like my debt has shrunk, not increased! Incidentally, that debt of £59k is with interest and charges frozen. The "real" debt, had I been paying as normal, would be three times that in the end.

Going into a DMP as you suggest could take 15 years to pay off, if the creditors play ball, which they are unlikley to do over a long period of time.

debtinfo

i think the main points to consider between bankruptcy and IVA in your case is this.

In bankruptcy there is a final conclusion to the debt when the decision is made, In an IVA it is only final at the end of the 5/6 years. The payments are likely to be the same amount in both but the bankruptcy is 2-3 years less payments. so thats 2 up for bankruptcy. BUT. here is the downside, assets are much less certain in bankruptcy. so the house will be looked at in 2 years 3 months time (on current guidelines), if it has no or little equity at that point no problem, if there is equity you will need to pay that amount in or lose the house. Car. it is likely that the OR will not let you keep on with the HP, but would let you keep most of the time a low value car if husband used it for work.


so depends on what matters most to you, bankruptcy for quick final conclusion to debts and shorter payment time. IVA for certainty about assets

j_d_2-2

well just got home to my draft for an iva from vincent bond and when i spoke to the lady the other night she said i would be refunded my 400 set up fee if the iva failed and i now have 2 letters to sign to say i can not claim it back, theres 1 lie! then she said i would pay £200 per month and i said this seems low would it not change she said only if our wage increased i was very wary of the sum increasing and she could not say enough how this was not going to happen, the papers i got today say in tiny writing that the figure shown maybe adjusted before the iva is produced to the debt companies the £200 was just an example, theres lie number 2, and last of all my nursery fees are much lower on the expenditure sheet the figures are totally different from mine and our income is also lower than i told her and yet i would have had to prove all these costs, just seems they would have added much more to my stresses.. i have spoken to the cab today was very helpful and im seeing them on tuesday to discuss helpful options to make my debt better not like these trying to take my very last penny!!!

j_d_2-2

thanks for this website i found it very helpful as there are everyday living costs you dont even think of, we have my husbands son 7 out of 14 nights do we include him in our expenditures even though we dont get the family allowance etc.. or just the maintenance we pay as monthly he does cost us??