Sinking Under Huge Debt!

WoodruffsDad

I am nearly 64 and working full-time. My health is not good. Very roughly, my net income is £1,300.00 per month and my outgoings are £2,500.00 per month.

I am inclined to head in the direction of an I.V.A. but I have 3 questions:

1) What are the forum's views on I.V.A.s?

2) Is there an official website for I.V.A.s? I don't want to fall into the hands of sharks!

3) Could there be a better way?

village_life

well with the limited info. you've provided your massively living beyond your means

can you give us any sort of breakdown of your income and outgoings, as any action to reduce that rather than IVA's would perhaps be preferable for you.....

Storm

Hi Julian :hello:

Right, first thing to do is have a look at SouthernScousers sticky 'First Time Posters' at the top of the board, then grab a cuppa & all your statements and write out your Statement of Affairs - this lists all your income & outgoings, debts with aprs & minimum payments etc.

With IVAs - there are plenty of people on here with them, and to make sure you don't get ripped off go through either the CAB or CCCS (links at the top of the page) as these won't skim fees off the top. However, with IVA's 75% of your creditors (by percentage of the total debt owed) have to agree, and as I'm assuming you'll be retiring soon, especially if you're not too well, you might not have enough 'spare' income each month in their view. CAB or CCCS will however be able to advise you on the best course for your circumstances though.

So, get the SoA up, and don't panic - you're in the right place!

Snaggles

Do you know what your credit rating is like? I'm asking because an IVA will trash it - if it's currently good, one option might be to shuffle debts around to take advantage of lower interest rates/introductory offers on credit cards etc. As others have said, if you pop up your SOA, we can have a look and see if we can offer any other suggestions. Good luck with getting this sorted - your health is the most important thing at the end of then day.

chevalier

I belive that an IVA last for 5 years. As another poster mentioned, 75% of your creditors have to agree to the IVA. If they do they knock a fair wack off your debt.

BUT there is no room for error in an IVA. If you start to not make payments, then one of your creditors is within their rights to make you bankrupt. It will also affect your credit rating. There are a couple of types of IVA, but in one sort in the 4th year if you have equity in your house, then you would be exptected to release it, even if it means selling your house.

If you choose this route, then still talk to CCCS, Payplan or CAB. They will put you in touch with their Insolvency Practitioners (you have to have one of these to sort out the IVA).

Without more details of your income and expenditure it is difficult to advise you further. So I will await your Statement of Affairs (SOA) with interest
good luck
chev

Seaxwyn

Hello Julian.

That sounds like a horrible scary situation you're in, but there's nothing that can't be sorted.

Just echoing others' advice to post a SOA (see sticky at top of this forum). People on here are brilliant at spotting ways you can cut outgoigns that you might never have thought of.

Good luck

WoodruffsDad

My net income is £1,300.00 p.m.

I do not own a home and I have no mortgage. I live in a "company" house of my wife's employer.

My household expenditure per month is £400.00.

My expenditure on loans, credit cards etc. is £1,600.00 per month.

Is this good enough as a S.O.A?

raq

You would be best to input as:

Income into house

And ALL your bills. i.e. credit cards/water/gas/electric/food and so forth

All the best

lonely_2

JulianCBrown wrote: »

I am nearly 64 and working full-time. My health is not good. Very roughly, my net income is £1,300.00 per month and my outgoings are £2,500.00 per month.

I am inclined to head in the direction of an I.V.A. but I have 3 questions:

1) What are the forum's views on I.V.A.s?

2) Is there an official website for I.V.A.s? I don't want to fall into the hands of sharks!

3) Could there be a better way?

Hi there, it sounds like the disparity between your income and outgoings needs a more serious solutions than juggling the debt around. My personal view on an IVA is that it is a very good option for people who don't want to be on a debt management plan forever, but don't want to lose their homes and cannot go bankrupt. I considered an IVA myself, but decided to opt for the DMP when I realised I could pay off my debts in full without having to share some of that money with an IVA provider, thereby allowing me to pay my debt off quicker.

From my perspective, an IVA is good for you if:
- you want to pay off all your debts in five years
- you don't own a house or you don't mind some of the equity in your house being released (usually by a remortgage in the 4th year) to pay for some of the debt
- you need the agreement to be legally binding
- you want the interest to be stopped
- you can't afford to meet your minimum repayments as they stand but you can still afford to pay over £200 towards the IVA (I think this is the minimum)

Please, please, please talk to someone at the CCCS. Although they don't do IVAs themselves, if they refer you to Grant Thornton, and you can't afford to pay the IVA fees yourself, they will arrange it so that they/your creditors cover these fees (can't remember which one).

When I was looking at IVAs, I used to check a forum on https://www.iva.co.uk. It was brilliant because companies are not allowed to advertise themselves, it's heavily frowned upon. So the experts are just there to give advice. But remember that any IVA company needs to make money too and there are good one - that care about their clients - and bad ones out there. Apart from Grant Thornton, I also talked to Finebridge, who I have the utmost respect for as they listened to everything then suggested I go for a debt management plan rather than an IVA (which was not in their interests).

Finally, with regards to the alternatives, Payplan seem to have a well-rounded view, as they offer DMPs, IVAs and budgeting advice. I am with them and their services have been great. Their advice and DMP services are also free of charge (not so with the IVA).

danno_4

Hi Julian,with respect to lonley's advice i would not touch an iva,he mentioned grant thornton,with respect to them someone's got to pay for the offices in central birmingham,stay clear mate,my advice would be to sit down list all the debts and make an offer on what you can realalisticly affourd,you will also need to fill in an income and expendeture form to see what disposable income you have,then spread the disposable income between your creditors.make sure that the money divided percentage wise to each creditor and also tell or even list all the creditors that you owe money to and the percentage each one will get,also before you start paying make sure you give them an amount you will pay of that debt.example you owe 3k offer 1k over say 24months,if they refuse still make the payment.also important to tell each creditor you live in rented accomadation and have no assets at all.
good luck mate
danno

WoodruffsDad

Thank you all for your help. It's encouraging! Where do I find the S.O.A. on this website? I can't see it.

Things are now getting VERY desperate. I managed to pay my April debts but there is no way that I can pay May's which are flooding in already.

What should I do to attempt to give myself time to sort things out?