What is life like AFTER an iva?

scared-sick

Can anyone tell me what life has been like after an iva has finished?
Have you had any problems you were not expecting or warned about?
Did it affect your mortgage rate adversely? (Not getting a new mortgage after an iva but a mortgage you had during the iva)?

Did you have to declare it on any forms etc?
Did you get kicked off a contract mobile phone?
Do you have to declare that you had an iva forever or only whilst you are in it?

These are questions i think about as there is lots of info about before and during an iva in order to prepare but not much for after and i want to know how this may affect me after an iva is finished.

Any help anyone or do people disappear from advice boards once their problem is completed?

Thank you

milliemonster

Ok, I am only 3 years in but can answer a couple of your questions

I have a mortgage that the fixed deal we were on expired last year, we were offered a new fixed deal despite still being in an iva so I can't imagine for a minute that once it's over our existing lender would refuse another special deal, we have not had to go onto the svr.

We both have contract mobiles already and it's never been an issue, we have upgraded our phones fine.

Who would you have to declare it to? If you go for another mortgage with a new lender after the 6 years is up and it's off your credit record then you would only have to declare it if their forms ask specifically if you've ever been in an iva, otherwise there is no other situation I can think of where you would need to declare it

scared-sick

milliemonster wrote: »

Ok, I am only 3 years in but can answer a couple of your questions

I have a mortgage that the fixed deal we were on expired last year, we were offered a new fixed deal despite still being in an iva so I can't imagine for a minute that once it's over our existing lender would refuse another special deal, we have not had to go onto the svr.

We both have contract mobiles already and it's never been an issue, we have upgraded our phones fine.

Who would you have to declare it to? If you go for another mortgage with a new lender after the 6 years is up and it's off your credit record then you would only have to declare it if their forms ask specifically if you've ever been in an iva, otherwise there is no other situation I can think of where you would need to declare it

Thank you for the reply its very helpful.
It is also useful to know you got another fixed rate as i thought i would have to go on svr.
Did you have to take a poorer interest rate being on the iva or was it similar to normal fixed rates?

milliemonster

No not at all, the fixed rate we were offered was for 2 years and based on our ltv, it was cheaper than being on the svr

scared-sick

milliemonster wrote: »

No not at all, the fixed rate we were offered was for 2 years and based on our ltv, it was cheaper than being on the svr

Have you come across anything yet that you werent prepared for?

Anything like the iva going up on your yearly review for no reason?

Knowing what you know now, would you do it again?

milliemonster

No nothing at all, but that's because I spent 6 months doing lots and lots of reading and research to ensure I absolutely 100% knew what I was getting into! most often the people who run into the most problems are those who don't do their research and rush headlong into it without giving it enough time and thought.

Our iva has never gone up, the whole point of it to be honest is that you get better off as the years pass by, we have, every year when be have had a payrise, we have been able to offset it by increasing our expenditure allowances, so we actually end up better off.

Knowing what I know now? Yes I would still do it again, but I think I would probably have stopped paying creditors and saved for a full and final iva from the off rather than a 5 year one

scared-sick

milliemonster wrote: »

No nothing at all, but that's because I spent 6 months doing lots and lots of reading and research to ensure I absolutely 100% knew what I was getting into! most often the people who run into the most problems are those who don't do their research and rush headlong into it without giving it enough time and thought.

Our iva has never gone up, the whole point of it to be honest is that you get better off as the years pass by, we have, every year when be have had a payrise, we have been able to offset it by increasing our expenditure allowances, so we actually end up better off.

Knowing what I know now? Yes I would still do it again, but I think I would probably have stopped paying creditors and saved for a full and final iva from the off rather than a 5 year one

Thanks Millie,
Its good to know that you can offset payrise with additional allowances, i didnt know you could do that.

It would take me forever to save for a full and final iva so that is not an option for me.

I am definitely no rushing into this and have researched as much as i can. I am always going to worry that ive missed something, a vital piece of information that i wasnt aware of that would make me have chosen never to do an iva but at this point in time i feel the benefits are outweighing the negatives.

I wish i had a crystal ball!!

YorkshireT

My IVA began in 2007 and completed late 2011. In early 2013 (prior to the expiration of the 6 years from start date) I went to my bank to upgrade from a basic account to a current account with overdraft facility. I was rejected for this. With the benefit of hindsight I should've waited til the 6 years was up.

Late last year I did a bit of an exercise to check I was finally rid of this. This was instigated when I received correspondence from one of my creditors indicating I still owed then money some 2 years after the settlement. Disappointingly, a check of the insolvency register found my IVA still listed as current, despite the fact that it had finished 2 years ago. The public record still appeared on all 3 credit reference agency reports. I had a fairly arduous task of sending everyone copies of my completion documentation to finally have the settlement acknowledged by the creditor (they'd received the money but not updated their records), and managed to get the record removed from the insolvency register and credit reference agencies, despite the fact that some of the above are very difficult to contact and speak to! I found that advising them that I would contact the Information Commissioners' Office about a breach of data protection given their incorrect representation of personal data in public records seemed to hurry things along a little. I'm so angry about the fact that, having paid my dues, I had to then go through all of this.

In short, I found I had to administer all of the completion tasks myself, when really I would have expected it to be a lot more automated, especially given the obvious importance and significance of it. As all of us that have been in IVA will know, it's not some kind of game and it's not fun, I hate the whole stigma of it and I'm not proud that I got into the mess in the first place, but after satisfying all the terms I felt I was entitled to a smoother transition in getting rid of the record and moving on.

Since then I've upgraded my bank account, been offered a credit card and started saving, so things are looking up. I never had any issue with my mobile phone contract. Long term I'd like to aim for a mortgage, I'm told a whole market broker is the way to go. All in all it's been stressful, hard work (be prepared to do it yourself rather than rely on any third parties to rectify the records on your behalf), but it's starting to feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel.

milliemonster

You see, I have a normal bank account and have had throughout my iva, never needed a basic account, I made sure I opened it before the iva started and our credit ratings were trashed.

UpToMyNeckInIt

scared-sick wrote: »

Thanks Millie,
Its good to know that you can offset payrise with additional allowances, i didnt know you could do that.

It would take me forever to save for a full and final iva so that is not an option for me.

I am definitely no rushing into this and have researched as much as i can. I am always going to worry that ive missed something, a vital piece of information that i wasnt aware of that would make me have chosen never to do an iva but at this point in time i feel the benefits are outweighing the negatives.

I wish i had a crystal ball!!

Some great advice from YorkshireT & Millie.

I think that covers it: Continue to do your research before entering an IVA. Saying that, nobody expects you to become an expert. 18-Months in, I am still learning about how to maximise everything to my advantage, learning of little tips and tricks etc. to help me through. Just as well, because I get more support from these forums than my IVA firm.

At the other end of this process, as soon as my 6-Years in the credit doldrums are up, I shall make sure I chase the relevant agencies to ensure your IVA is cleared. - YorkshireT is by no means alone in finding traces of the IVA long after it should have been cleared.

Sadly in this day and age, you cannot assume that your IVA people, the credit agencies and the Insolvency Service are going to work together seamlessly to tidy up your credit file in every case. Whilst I am sure that many customers experience no bother at all, you can bet your life, mine will be the one they mess up.

YorkshireT

Uptomyneckinit; I just got the feeling (perhaps unfairly, perhaps not) that they weren't bothered and couldn't understand why I was so desperate to get a public record of my personal details, displaying out of date and wholly incorrect information, removed. Contacting the insolvency service in particular was incredibly frustrating and at no point did I ever get the opportunity to actually speak to somebody and convey my feelings. It was all through generic mailboxes, often with automated responses that did little to give me any faith that the people at the other end were actually interested in correcting their error. In any case, it eventually got done and all's well that ends well as they say.

On the plus side, it sounds like you're clued up and on top of things. If I'd have been more proactively aware, instead of just assuming things would get done, I could have alleviated the situation long before I did. Like you say, start with the Insolvency Register as that's at the front end of the process. Make sure that is correct(ed) then get onto all 3 CRAs to make sure the correct(ed) information is correctly reflected!

Once that's been done, I'm starting to feel like there genuinely is hope that it's not a life sentence.