IVA - What to do?

shazbot

Hi worriedchick
I contacted Payplan.com which i got from this site. in the process of deciding which way to go, DMP or IVA. they do not charge and have been very helpful, giving me control of when to be in touch etc and time to decide . Good luck and be brave x

worriedchick

I've now spoken to a couple of people. One has suggested I will be offering about 74p in the £. I had a couple of follow on questions for them over the weekend and sent a text and an e-mail but they've not replied to me even though they said weekend was best time to get hold of them so I'm concerned there. They say they have a 99% success rate but the others say 90%, don't know what to do. I've also got to ask for a valuation in writing on my home which I'm not sure an estate agent would do?

worriedchick

Oh and they also suggested we have 2 separate IVA's??

FavDaughter1

Hi, we just rang a estate agent,told them we were considering moving,they did a valuation for us,no problem.

i have heard of Clear debt & seen positive posts about them. we used Melanie Giles. she was very good,found her team easy to talk too.

you can't have a "joint" IVA,the term they use is "interlocking".
have you looked at the link with lists of IP'S https://www.iva.com ?? You can read the reviews which might help you x

Firefox99

Hi,

An IVA will give you a good nights sleep, but make sure that you have thoroughly analysed your Income & expenditure so that you don't end up with a payment amount that you struggle with. I have been through an IVA, my last payment is in 4 weeks time (a 5 year IVA) and my debt was in excess of £70k but with careful budgeting it can be done. Remember that when you are in an IVA you will have to hand over any spare cash to your creditors so make sure that you have not under estimated your true living expenses, particularly for kids clothes, shoes hair cuts etc etc...

I know from bitter experience just how you felt, its incredibly hard, the phone rings off the hook and the stress levels are off the scale, but you have taken an important first step in dealing with the situation by facing up to it and getting proper advice, so well done you. An IVA is by no means an easy option, but you are forced to live well within your means, you could look at it as a sort of financial rehabilitation.

I wish you the best of luck and a debt free future.

worriedchick

Thank you for your kind posts. I am actually looking forward to the IVA. I've never budgeted or made allowances and the allowances suggested by Tina at Melanie Giles are more then we had before. I'm looking forward to paying the debt off and not just paying the interest.

I'll call the estate agents tomorrow x

kate25790

Dear Worriedchick as all the other posts have said, we have all been there. I can still remember standing on the street outside my house and thinking that I would just pack up a suitcase for me and the children and drive away, change my identity and move countries......daft idea really and as the children were 3 years to 17 years they might have had something to say about my plan.

10 years after my IVA for £120k I am mortgage and totally debt free. It's a great feeling so please please don't worry as this time will pass.

Just slightly worried that you are worried about birthday presents. I know how hard it is to change your way of thinking about things and the first year of the IVA I spent £5 on each of the children's and family christmas presents after spending £200 + each in previous years. I told my friends that I couldn't afford to give them anything but my love !The children, family and friends still love me and I have never gone back to expensive christmas presents, my budget even now is about £30 each and it feels so good to end christmas with no debts .

Like everyone has said to you , good luck and keep positive however difficult it is.

kate25790

Forgot to say we used Payplan and I 've recommended them to a couple of people and they seem very good.

thinkpositive1

Hi worried chick - I read your post and could relate to a lot of what you said as I was in a similar position with mounting debts and the massive anxieties that caused leading to many sleepless nights, constant worry and inability to "switch off" and relax as all I thought about were my debts and the mess I was in.

I work for myself so my income can vary but I try and draw down a steady amount from my business each month. I had £65k unsecured debts and a £30k loan secured on my house.

I went to CCCS 3 years ago and started a DMP (debt management plan). Whilst this was good to start with and gave me a sense of getting on top of my money problems and provided some flexibility, the down side was the amount of time that I would have to be on a DMP to clear my debts. Most (not all) creditors froze the interest so at last i was starting to reduce the debts but I was still getting some calling me and hassling me but more than that, I could NOT see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I looked into IVAs and bankruptcy in detail to see what might be the best option and for me an IVA was the best choice I made. I worried about losing my house / car etc. but I has fantastic support from the IVA advisor at the company I opted for and to cut a long story short, they sorted everything out and I am now paying £300 a month on my IVA (started in January this year).

I am not saying it's easy and if your income can vary (like mine) it is hard to predict with confidence what you will be able to afford and budget for. All I know is that my mortgage and my IVA payments are my top priorities each month (as well as normal utility bills etc.) and if I have to juggle around with what is left to pay for other things - food / petrol and living, then that's the way it is. It is helped put me in a better frame of mind knowing there is light at the end ofthe tunnel and I can work to that point. I regret now "wasting" 2 years on a DMP as if I had gone straight for the IVA option I would be half way through my IVA but no point dwelling on it too much.

The best thing for me is knowing that by December 2015 I will be free of my debts and frankly I can't wait. Being able to get by (just about) to a point in 4.5 years time when I know a massive weight will be lifted off my mind is what makes me realise this is such a better option. Everyone has different circumstances and needs different solutions but in my situation the IVA solution was spot on.

Best of luck with whatever you do. Just wanted to comment as I really felt for you in what your original post said and you find lots of help and encouragement on here !!

worriedchick

Thank you so much for your support.

Since joining the forum I have not had any sleepless nights. IVA was something that horrified me up until a couple of weeks ago. I've now realised this is the best way forward. I'm glad I am going into an IVA as I know my debts will be paid off now. If I didn't do this and carried on making my payments I would still be in debt as an old lady as I would still have used credit to get by when we needed something. I knew I was always just getting by and the sleepless nights were because I was worrying about having enough money to pay my debts.

I am still scared that I would not have enough to pay the IVA but hoping to save as much as I can before it is finalised. They have worked out an allowance for everything like clothes, dinner money, emergencies etc etc and this comes to nearly £400 a month on top of food & petrol. I never used to allow myself a budget for these things and probably just found the money or used credit. This allowance will be saved every month and I will let it build up so when the car tax comes in or it's school uniform time the money will be there. This will probably be the first time I will have a savings account with money in it for things we need. I will no longer buy things like shoes and not worry about the price, the credit card always took care of it but if I have to hand over my hard saved allowance I will be looking for the best price I can get.

I don't know what I would do without this forum. I felt ashamed to talk about my debt before now but have realised there are so many in the same boat as me and are such nice and genuine people who are non judgemental of others.