Not on Credit Report, does it go in IVA?

tony_cluedo

I will be setting up an IVA soon. I had a mortgage, 5 credit cards, an overdraft and a business loan. They were all defaulted a few years ago now. I just ignored any correspondence but I need to sort them now. The business loan did go to court and I had to attend to give financial details. They said if I heard nothing further then the bank would have accepted I was not in a position to repay the loan. I heard nothing further but don't know if it's still active but I'll have to check.

The mortgage and current account both show on the credit reports from Equifax and Experian.

My question regards the credit cards. None of them appear on the reports. Have they been written off and finished with or are they still there somewhere in the ether? Perhaps passed to a collection agency where they might pop up again at a later point.

Should I contact the credit card agencies and ask what the status of the debt is or could I assume as it isn't on the credit report that it is settled? I wouldn't want to set up the IVA then find another debt appear.

sourcrates

Defaulted accounts stay on your file for six years, then drop off.

Have you been paying these ?

If not, they could be statute barred, if you have, then they still exist, and you are still liable for them.
Make sure you include all your qualifying debts, never assume anything where money is concerned.

They won't be settled unless you have settled them !!

tony_cluedo

I've not been paying them. It might have been 6 years since I did.

The house one is only defaulted a year or two. Want to sort it out as I've been on temporary and short, fixed term contracts for years but have just been made permanent. I have no intention of buying a house at the minute as my job status and the debts wouldn't allow it but I would like to save and be in a position to buy at some point in the future.

Would it be better to assume the debt is there? Ask the credit card companies for written confirmation it's settled and if not then include it in the IVA.

sourcrates

tony_cluedo wrote: »

Would it be better to assume the debt is there? Ask the credit card companies for written confirmation it's settled and if not then include it in the IVA.

I'd try to ascertain there statute barred status first, if possible.

Otherwise, as I said before, never assume anything, an IVA is a serious arrangement to enter, you need to make sure ALL your debts go into it, so you can draw a line under them, and start again with a clean slate.