Should we sign for an IVA? Please help!!!

Depth_Charge

Bantams wrote: »

Hi. Me and my husband are in total about 30,000 in debt. We have been plodding away for years trying to gain control but the monthly payments are a real struggle now. He doesn't want to enter an IVA because he thinks a large amount of equity will be taken off us at the end of the term. I understand some will be. There is no equity in our house at the moment. Also I have a car with a balloon payment of about 4,000 that will be due in about 18 months so am mindful I won't be able to borrow to keep my car of which I run my business, I could not do without it. I really could do with some sound advice because at the moment there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I have been in touch with a company about an IVA and they said they could help me. How do I know they are a reputable firm? I got conned into a quick fix a few years ago so am very anxious to trust again but NEED to sort our financial situation out. help!!!!!

Hi

Some good and cross section posts already

Just to add my bit

Could you put up more details on your overall circumstances?

A few points and questions to note in the meantime

The car balloon payment could be tricky.

Make sure you fully understand the situation with your home and any potential payment extension or re-mortgage clause, secured loans are also now being plugged and mentioned by some.

Are there any issues relating to your mortgage and interest rate such as forthcoming changes, temporary arrangements etc?

How secure is your business and income as affordability and sustainability of payments are paramount with an IVA.

5/6 years is a long time and things can and do happen

Make sure you fully understand the IVA fee structure

Have you any potential PPI claims?

What percentage split are the debts between you and your husband?

As posters have said there is no such thing as a free IVA, they are all basically profit making business's

Tens of thousands of IVAs fail often leaving people worse off than when they started.

The bottom line is make sure you fully understand what an IVA involves, the pros, cons & risks and any other potential options before committing or making what could be a big decision.

Best to get 2 or 3 opinions and compare, preferably at least one from a genuine charity with no financial interest.

As far as reputable firms go, I haven't heard of one yet that says that they are not.

My opinion is that the biggest are not always the best but it would not be right for me to recommend any individual company.

Hope this helps, it is my genuine take

cheesedoffwithdebt

could I just endorse what Milliemonster has said?
The debt charities charge as well for an IVA because it's a legal process and requires fees etc- you also have to watch out for issues like Stepchange I'd forgotten about that. I am with a private IP who is a sole practitioner and independent, he has been fine.
Shop around and do your homework seems to be the best advice. What I was concerned about were the private companies who advise on an IVA every time, because it makes more money for them than bankruptcy. As long as you understand how it works and how it will work for you, and go in with your eyes open, and there are tons of very helpful people on here who will help you do that, it's fine.

milliemonster

I'm not with a charity for my Iva, can I just say that my ip did not recommend an iva to me, they explained all the options open to me in great detail and left me to make up my own mind once I had all the facts, this information was free, funny when I approached CCCS they advised me to take a dmp which incidentally would have taken 20 years to pay off, I wonder why that is? Considering they are funded by creditors so have a vested interest in getting as much of a return to creditors as they can, even if that means you are paying forever.

cheesedoffwithdebt

milliemonster wrote: »

I'm not with a charity for my Iva, can I just say that my ip did not recommend an iva to me, they explained all the options open to me in great detail and left me to make up my own mind once I had all the facts, this information was free, funny when I approached CCCS they advised me to take a dmp which incidentally would have taken 20 years to pay off, I wonder why that is? Considering they are funded by creditors so have a vested interest in getting as much of a return to creditors as they can, even if that means you are paying forever.

well said-I hope you didn't misunderstand my post, you've said you're not with a debt charity, I was agreeing with you

milliemonster

cheesedoffwithdebt wrote: »

well said-I hope you didn't misunderstand my post, you've said you're not with a debt charity, I was agreeing with you

Not at all, sorry I should have thanked you!, I totally agreed with you also. So many people on here constantly harp on about contacting the debt charities only, yes I appreciate there are unscrupulous companies out there, but just because some companies charge for their services does not mean that the service they give is inferior. I don't believe for a minute that stepchange and pay plan are impartial, not where Ivas are concerned anyway. The advice they gave me would have locked me into a repayment plan for the rest of my working life.

I have a lot of experience of Ivas now, and know a lot of people in them with various different companies, my own experience is that people have as many issues with Ivas arranged by pay plan and stepchange as they do with others.

Ivas aren't for everyone and need to be carefully considered before entering into, including the ramifications of doing so. But I do believe that everyone is entitled to know the pros and cons of every debt solution before making an informed decision, a private IP did that for me where a debt charity failed to do so, neither charged me for that information.