Iva was easy

MUMZ2BEE

I successfully applied for an iva with debt free direct.

I got mine on the 1st june.

I found them very cooperative and easy to deal with; apart from paying the agreed sum each month, i dont hear from them at all.

I am now £70 a month better off doing this and its such a relief to finally have some money to myself each month!!

The only creditor harassment i had was with halifax bank who kept ringing me every day for 2 weeks after the iva was issued; i had an almighty row with them on the fone and demanded that they stop ringing me daily which was starting to cause me distress, and made me fear answering the fone!!

Not heard from the since, when i told them where to go, and whom my iva provider was!!

I would recommend debt free direct to anyone!!

SnowMan

The first point of call should always be one of the free debt advice charities, NEVER NEVER NEVER a commercial debt company such as Debt Free Direct see this official MSE article on dealing with debts and this MSE IVA download.

The debt charities will have your interests at heart while a commercial debt company will be interested in their own profits.

In the very limited circumstances that an IVA is an appropriate option (and generally this would be in a few cases where the alternative of bankruptcy wasn't a good option) then the debt charity will refer you on to a suitable insolvency practioner.

The important part of the process is identifying that an IVA might be appropriate in the first place through a free debt charity who have your interests at heart.

I've seen many cases of people with failed IVAs that were taken out in inappropriate circumstances seeking advice on what to do.

sort_me_own_yard_out

I will second everything that Snowman has said. My biggest mistake was taking out an IVA with Money Debt and credit. I really should of stuck with going bankrupt before being talked into an IVA.

I know we are all in charge of our destination but I truely believe that they pounce of the most vunerable and I would of done anything to put an end to the phone calls and constant contact from my creditors.

In hindsight my IVA was doomed to fail. I am now trrying to save for my bankruptcy fees.

SnowMan

sort_me_own_yard_out wrote: »

I will second everything that Snowman has said. My biggest mistake was taking out an IVA with Money Debt and credit. I really should of stuck with going bankrupt before being talked into an IVA.

I know we are all in charge of our destination but I truely believe that they pounce of the most vunerable and I would of done anything to put an end to the phone calls and constant contact from my creditors.

In hindsight my IVA was doomed to fail. I am now trrying to save for my bankruptcy fees.

Great post :T

And good luck with saving for your bankruptcy fees.

tigerfeet2006

We have a board for IVA advice and help, why not post on there.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=159

I back Snowman in saying that it is always best to get information from the debt charities first.

My own experience of DFD are that they are a load of shysters, but that is my experience.

Gimpsdad

Each to his own, and the poster is happy. What else matters?

I would advise you all to read Martins guide to IVA's though, and then completely ignore it as it bears no relation to any sort of reality that I am aware of. That said, it may well have been advantageous to look at BR as well if you are talking from a purely financial point of view.

geoffky

Oh dear..money to throw away? Never pay some leech when the debt charities do it for free .

debtinfo

Hi Mumz2bee, congrats on getting it passed, like the others i believe that its worth going to a debt charity first, but it is your decision to make and i hope it works out well for you, do remember though that the hard part starts now, hopefully in 5-6 years time you can celebrate the conclusion of the IVA

AdvicePlease

Sadly I would never recommend Debt Free Direct to anyone, despite having a completed lump-sum IVA through them. They are out-and-out liars; the representative we spoke to assured me that the IVA would not affect our credit score! I was incredibly naive in those days and believed him....

Gimpsdad

Sorry, forgot to mention that the "charities" do IVA's for free. Don't they? If not, why not? They are charities after all.

The charities do DMP's for free of course, their funding comes from creditors so you don't pay, but of course you pay by being in debt for a much longer time and paying far more back, so you could always have gone down that route.

nottoolate

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

My own experience of DFD are that they are a load of shysters, but that is my experience.

not as bad as cambridge mcduffy :eek: