Thinking about an IVA.

FiatFan_2

yeah if you haven't already, maybe just give your creditors a token payment of £1pcm or if there difficult don't give them anything. Once you give then the stepchange reference number they should give you upto 30days leeway from harassment of calls and payment. Just depends on the creditors really, if you've been fending them off up till now, you should notice a difference once they have the reference number.

Vikipollard

Hi E21,

I've just finished a 6-year IVA and can honestly say that although it has been hard (and at times I've had pence left in the last few days before pay day), it was the right choice for me.

I started out with Blair Endersby, who passed their portfolio on to Grant Thornton two or three years ago. I have to say that both companies' customer service representatives have been fantastic. The chap from Blair Endersby who came out to go through my I&E was sound, very honest and not judgemental about how I'd got to that point. He also increased some of the amounts on my form because (for example) I'd been working with a budget of £50/week for food for the two of us, plus four kids on weekends and two dogs which he said was too low.

I won't pretend it's been easy, but at least I've always known how much I've got and I've learned how to budget properly. Incidentally, mine ran for six years instead of five because I was not on the mortgage and could therefore not be asked to release equity from the house (which has always been in DH's name only).

Whatever you decide, the very best of luck. It was a relief for me, as the creditor hassle stopped almost immediately. Six years is a long time, but I paid my last payment in August 2012. Just waiting on the completion certificate now.... x

cheesedoffwithdebt

Enchanted21 wrote: »

Hi everyone

Upto my neck in it, thank you so much for your well thought out and informative reply, you have given me a lot to think about, which is exactly what I wanted. You advice has been well thought out and informative x

LittleLegs, highjack away..... Lol. I don't mind..... All knowledge is good knowledge in my opinion. You might even ask and receive reply to questions I had not even thought about...... So keep asking . I hope it all goes well for you X

Sort me own back yard out and Patchy..... I need the negatives as well as the positives, which is exactly what I was after when I posted this thread to hear all sides of the 'IVA story'.

£35 a week sounds impossible to live on, but you are a shining example as to how we can over come adversity.... You have persevered and won..... An amazing story. If you have a diary on here I would love to read it . Well done Patchy!!!!

SMOYO.... Thanks for your experience, I'm so sorry it hasn't worked out for you :-(. And thanks for telling me which company to avoid. Every little helps, as they say. I hope you can find some relief from your debt worries, there is nothing worse. I'm pleased to hear you have some relief from speaking to someone at CAB and help from the British Legion..... Do let me know how it's going.

Fiatfan, I like you have contacted a debt charity, Stepchange. The first phone call was placed tonight where a lovely gentle man went through our income and outgoings..... I have to say, I felt very comfortable discussing the details with him. Not at as embarrassed as I might have originally thought and he was very polite.

I will receive a 2nd phone call at the end of the week once I have checked out some facts and figures.

The biggest surprise is Hubby. I really thought I would find it difficult talking about all of this with him, admitting fault and feeling like I have let him down. He has been amazing!!!! So much so that I feel like I'm the one that's freaking out. He makes some very compelling arguments, that when I'm worried or feeling out of sorts about the whole situation, he is able to make me focus better on the picture at hand, without reproach or reprimand. Amazing Xx

Fiat fan, I'm glad you have seen improvements in such a short space of time, it gives me hope Xx. I wondered what you meant about payments and approval? Do you stop paying creditors whilst you are waiting for an answer? I wonder?

The next job on our list is to open a new bank account, with a different provider..... Thanks Up to me neck in it :-). Then it's the long, fight to make sure our wages are paid into it. I'm wanting to wait until after the 1st when our mortgage is paid before we officially start the ball rolling, as I would like to be assured that it is paid on time and we have a 4 weeks before it's paid again, just incase there is a c-up somewhere down the line.

It's hard work and a hard decision, but we will get there, I'm sure. At least me and Hubby are on the same page, and Princess and Munchkin are at an age where they are too young to understand, but will be old enough when we are through for us to give them a shot in their future.

Once again, heartfelt thanks for the repliesXx

If you can tink of anything else that might be good to know, don't hesitate to post

Enchanted Xx

HI-I am not a trained expert on this, just someone who has learned through experience so I hope you don't mind me adding to the thread. I would say its best if you get in control of this- and not let anyone advise you until you know;
1- what you have got coming into the house and going out- there are links on here for preparing a statement of affairs which give guidance about what expenses to allow for

2- how quickly you could pay your debts off with what is left

for instance if you had £40K of debt and could pay £400 a month it would take 100 months, i.e. 8 years.

Then you have to bear in mind that without a formal insolvency arrangement (IVA, DRO or bankruptcy) creditors will continue to charge interest, so in this example it would be 8 years minimum.

I heard someone once say 5 years is enough to live on a tight budget and 4 years in I'd be inclined to agree, and I have a good IP who made the right allowances for my expenditure.

Armed with that information, when you "shop around" for an IP you can make a better judgement about who is trying to persuade you to have an IVA for their benefit.

The issue I think is not that IVA's are bad, they are the right arrangement for some people particularly if you own a property and want to stay there, but some practitioners, and Patchy's story bears that out, will try and squeeze the wrong circumstances into a 5 year long agreement leaving the debtor still in difficulty.

Ideally you want to be out of debt as soon as possible- and it's easy to want to make a decision to get creditors off your back. Not all creditors are reasonable but most ought to accept token payments as Fiatfan has suggested, with an explanation from you that you are in financial difficulty and will be making arrangements to repay the debts but can they accept these payments for now?

Please consider your own circumstances-how long can you sustain regular payments out of income, and try to reach your own conclusion guided by of course a practitioner.

keep asking questions as well that's what this forum is for!!

Enchanted21

Thanks Vickipollard and Chessedoffwithdebt for your replies, always welcome and gives me lots of food for thought.

I do have another question :-). I haven't accepted any remedy yet, but I do want to look into changing our bank account details, for the reasons you all set out above. Do I have to change to a basic current account, or because nothing has started yet, can I opt for a normal current account, but request no overdraft & cheque book? I think it has been already answered in an above post, but I don't want to get this wrong.

I was thinking about Nationwide, has anyone had any experience with them?

I really appreciate all the replies, your help in this is invaluable. Thank you :-)

Enchanted Xx

FiatFan_2

We moved our accounts to the Nationwide pre-iva, you'll get an account based on your circumstances without OD or cheque book, you'd have to request them after the account is opened.

My account is the most basic one and haven't had any issues using it yet. The internet banking is fantastic imo in comparison to HBOS, HSBC, First Direct & Barclays. They also now have mobile apps for apple and android although haven't tried them yet.

UpToMyNeckInIt

Hi E21,

No need to limit yourself to a basic account without a cheque book.

I know cheques are a little 'last century', but still a useful facility to have.

When/if you get an IVA however, and your details appear on the insolvency register, you will struggle to even open a basic account.

Banking with any non-creditor is fine, as long as you avoid HSBC or Lloyds.

You are right to consider the up and down sides of an IVA, and it's really nice to see a range of opinions on here.

Depth_Charge

Hi

Yes, very good thread this.

Plenty of balance, just how it should be.

cheesedoffwithdebt

you ought to change banks but pre IVA you have a better choice so do it now! Yes- just ask for no overdraft you can have a debit card and cheque book, this isn't bankruptcy- it's only when your credit file shows loads of defaults that you cannot have a standard bank account.

Anondebtadvisor

Avoid Lloyds TSB and HSBC for bank accounts pre IVA

Lloyds have recently started closing accounts if they find out a client is in an IVA, just as HSBC do :-(

Enchanted21

Thanks everyone for adding to the advice :-)

Today, I opened a flex account with Nationwide and I opted out of a cheque book and overdraft. I asked for my d/d's to be transferred after the mortgage I'd paid on the first of the month. I'm wondering....... I have my 2 loans with my current bank provider and they also come out on the first of the month.

Do I

A) pay all loans and overdrafts with them, whilst I'm sorting/discussing IVA with Stepchange and pay my mortgage as normal?

Or

cancel my loan d/d's and not leave enough money to pay them and my overdraft and pay my mortgage over the phone before it comes out on d/d on the first?

My next phone call with Stepchange is on Friday, so hopefully then I will be another step forward...... I'm starting to be swayed towards an IVA. It does seem like the best option at the moment.

Thanks again

Enchanted Xx