IVA? Be very wary!

Richard_Carver

DorisTrousers wrote: »

No, not at all. Your daughter is 20 and could reasonably, by your creditors at least, be expected to support herself, even if only through part time work. If they were reasonable costs, and I do sympathise by the way, I have kids coming to university age soon myself, then they would be allowable expenses. If your creditors, via the guidelines used from Stepchange and your IP, were effectively funding your daughters further education by taking less money against their debt, that would be just as unfair to them as you argue it is unfair to you that you cannot support her as your IVA payment leaves you little room to help.

Thanks.

My daughter is trying to gain work to subsidise her University course by gaining a part-time job. Canterbury is a two university town and student jobs are harder to get.

She has to commit to the cost of the accommodation and the course up-front and then hope to get a job in order to afford to actually attend.

I think I'm upset because we are surrounded by my adult daughter's peers who seem to have gained full, adequate university funding whilst my daughter is offered a far less amount. The families of those peers appear to have more disposable income than us and yet their children get more funding.

I got myself in the IVA situation and I accept that.

However, what has my 20 year adult daughter to got to do with it? I still can't accept a system that will freely loan one adult student adequate University funding and not another.

I just thought it prudent to point out our situation to others who are considering an IVA in case they hadn't fully considered it.

For me I think it is time to give up. If I don't work, my daughters and son will all be eligible for full University funding and I wont be working my way to an early grave so as my taxes can fully fund other peoples children and non-UK citizens in University courses to the extent my own children don't qualify for.

Tixy

Richard_Carver wrote: »

I merely wanted to alert people considering an IVA that their restricted finances won't be taken into account when their child applies for university funding and this may affect their lives, especially if like me they assumed a principle of equal opportunity would apply.

Are you saying I don't have a valid point?

No I agree its definitely worth making people aware that this is something for them to consider when consider an IVA. The lack of flexibility with an IVA is something that should definitely be highlighted to people when committing to one.

I just hope that she, like others, finds another way to finance herself through Uni.

Richard_Carver

Anaheim wrote: »

Have you approached your IP at all to ask if a variation meeting could be called to allow you to contribute to your daughters costs? we asked and the creditors asked the following

Does the child have a student loan/bursary. If so please detail the amounts.

· Does the child reside away from home? If so, how much is the rent?

You can but ask......

We did ask. My IP has assured me they allow for the maximum that can be allowed for.

We have been totally honest with our outgoings.

Off the record, a financial advisor feels that we have been too honest.

Richard_Carver

whodathunkit wrote: »

If your daughter's 20, presumably she's had a couple of years' working to save up to fund her education. In addition, if she works for another year she'll be considered to be an independent student and her finance package won't be assessed on your income.

Yes, yes....

In the meantime things are the way they are. I just wish that she could receive the same funding that other people receive. People who are demonstrably better off than us, people whose children receive a greater and more adequate degree of funding.

The more tax money you put into the system, the less benefit, value or consideration you receive from it.

Inequality is unfair.

Tixy

Richard_Carver wrote: »

how is it possible to fund all of the living costs when an IVA screws you down to bare essentials? We haven't been out for a meal, to the cinema or had any kind of holiday or break for four years (no adult birthday or Christmas celebrations in the two and a half years the IVA has been in place). I'm currently saving up for a new pair of shoes and to get the car serviced.

From some of things you have said I do wonder if your IVA proposal was set too tight from the start (not that it would have made any difference to this issue with your daughter), but there are certainly plently of people on IVAs who do seem to manage fairly comfortably, if basically.

Different IPs do use different figures, or seem to push the creditors harder to accept a proposal with a small amount of fat on the expenditure.

Aside from the Uni situation have you always struggled as much in the IVA, or have things been getting worse due to costs increasing? It may be worth talking to your IP about a variation anyway just for your own costs/outgoings (although I have no experience as to whether there is much chance of creditor agreeing to any help funding your daughter through Uni).

EDIT - sorry cross posted with #34.

lulu_92

Richard_Carver wrote: »

We are not local to a University, and not one that offered the course to my daughter. Accommodation and travel aside, how is it possible to fund all of the living costs when an IVA screws you down to bare essentials? We haven't been out for a meal, to the cinema or had any kind of holiday or break for four years (no adult birthday or Christmas celebrations in the two and a half years the IVA has been in place). I'm currently saving up for a new pair of shoes and to get the car serviced.

We need to find £90 a week (shortfall in accommodation, travel, course materials and living costs for my daughter). I can't find £9 a week at the moment. We shop for food frugally, the mortgage, the household bills, commuting costs and the IVA repayment take the rest.

I have rediscovered spam (of the tinned variety).

I know how you're feeling. Watching my mum try and find money to buy us food was hard and it has always made me think about the value of money and appreciate the things I do have.

Your daughter does need to make sure she finds a job. Even if it's cleaning toilets or something. If it was me and my mum was sacrificing everything to put me through university (even though the majority of people I know who also got minimum funding and lived away from home managed to put themselves through) I'd be wanting to do anything I could to lighten the load on her. I'm not trying to make your daughter sound bad or anything, I genuinely agree that job hunting as a student is difficult.

I was initially going to go to Coventry, which wasn't local enough for me, and the up front costs of accommodation were staggering!

milliemonster

Can I just ask why you think it is reasonable for your creditors to allow you to fund your daughter through university? as essentially that is what you are asking.

I have just been through an IVA myself, well we have just had a variation to close it off after 3 years so I have the experience of an IVA to be able to offer insight.

At the end of the day, when we take on an IVA we are accepting that we are unable to repay our debts in full, it then stands to reason that once essential outgoings are allowed, remaining disposable income goes to your creditors, to my mind, supporting a child through university is not an essential outgoing, and that is coming from a parent of a child approaching university herself.

IVA's are tough, but the key is to finding a good IP in the first instance and making sure you make the most of your allowances at the start, I have to say that although we have faced some tough times over the last few years, being in an IVA hasn't been as difficult as I expected, we still managed to fund a holiday each year, christmas and birthday presents by being savvy and saving from allowances when we can. Its all about lifestyle adjustment and lowering your expectations. It's unreasonable to expect a similar standard of living you had before an IVA, we used to go on holidays abroad but have taken sun holidays each year of our iva and have had a fantastic time, it can be done but too often you find people in an IVA just aren't willing to make sacrifices and compromises and just expect too much.

I personally think you are expecting too much from your creditors.

If you weren't in an IVA you would still have to fund your daughter through university as she wouldn't meet the criteria fr funding, the fact that you are in an IVA so financially are unable to you need to turn around and actually use as a positive experience to show your daughter that when life deals you a !!!! blow, you have to face the consequences and deal with it, at 20 yrs old, she is just going to have to find a way to fund herself.

Anondebtadvisor

Excellent post Milliemonster and I agree that it is essential to make sure your expenditure is absolutely correct at the start, this lowers the risk of the IVA becoming affordable in the future.

An IVA should not be a punishment and you should be able to afford small treats and certainly shoes! Small adjustments go a long way in an IVA.

Richard it does sound like your expenditure is very tight if you cannot even afford shoes and the like!! go back to your IP and explain you are struggling, they may not be able to add in expenses specifically for your daughter but if you max out the other areas it will all help you

milliemonster

Absolutely, and I disagree that an IVA is inflexible, we have on occasion missed a months full payment or part payment to fund something, once when my washer went and also when my son accidentally broke a neighbours car windscreen, phoned my IP on each occasion and immediately they said don't pay this month to get it sorted, it was never an issue.

Anondebtadvisor

Think it depends on your IP Milliemonster - in my experience those in IVAs get a lot less support and help from the IVA factories, where is a case of "computer says no"!