iva etc

bateyes

is it really worth getting an iva or the similar schemes, what are the advantages of getting one and most importantly what are the disadvantages

Tixy

This is probably worth a read as a starting point IVAs are they worth it?:

JokerDurden

For me it worked.

Completed mine after 5 years a few months ago, credit rating is now 'Good'.

Things an IVA helped me with, took all that pressure off, no worrying about creditors phoning, repossesion etc. All that stress of worrying how I was going to afford to live from one day to the next was gone on the day the IVA was agreed.

The five years is not easy, far from it. You have to re-learn how to live within your means, but you have a light at the end of the tunnel. it's one hell of a lesson to learn.

Foxy-Stoat_3

Think you need to give us a bit of info to get any sort of answer.

Take home salary minus living expenses = "X"
Total debt divide by "X" = number of months it would take you to pay back the debt (not including interest charges, these can add YEARS to a total repayment)
If the answer is more than 60 then I would seriously think about first living cheaper, reducing interest rates or demoting your car or whatever you can. If that still doesnt reduce "X" by a significant amount then I would seriously talk to an IVA company.

I found I owed 3 times my annual gross salary and no way of paying it back, so IVA worked for me. I now have a mortgage and learned a good lesson!

debtinfo

In purely statistical terms it is worth it for about 2/3 of people that take them out as they complete them and become debt free but not worth it for about 1/3 of people as they fail at somepoint during the term

FoggyBrain_2

Apart from unexpected job loss and illness, most failures seem to be down to not doing enough research before entering an IVA and getting caught out by something unexpected, not doing enough research and ending up with a useless IP firm or not doing enough research :-)

If you take Martin's view (which is actually incorrect on some points) and go for an IVA, then Payplan are pretty good as one of the so-called "charity" firms. However, the better private companies are as good (if chosen carefully) and get their fees in much the same way as the "charities".

Reputable private firms can be found at https://www.iva.com with reviews. It's a good idea to speak to a few to get a "feel" for the firm and the info.