Life before and after the IVA

Secondchancer

Friends

I wanted to share my story with all those people who have ended up with an IVA. After going through the experience, i would like to share the essentials one should follow.

I started my IVA in January 10 and settled it early in September 12. However, i received my discharge certificate in February 13. I will share the significance of these dates a bit later

MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR DEFAULT DATES RIGHT ON YOUR CREDIT FILES

The first thing that the creditors do when you start your IVA is that they start applying defaults to our accounts held with the 3 credit reference agencies. Legally the default date should not be after the IVA start date. I ran my reports with all 3 agencies (Experian, call credit and Equifax) and found that defaults dates were random. Some even months after the original IVA date. Now these defaults stay on the files for 6 years from the start date. I worked hard and wrote to all the creditors to get the dates corrected. I also requested Experian, call credit and Equifax to contact creditors for me. It became more complicated when some of these debts were sold to recovery companies. Anyways, i managed to get all dates corrected and i would recommend anyone in an IVA ensure that they get these dates right. The reason is that I completed my 6 years in January 16 and it meant that all defaults and IVA information fell off my files on the same date and I could make a fresh start.

SETTLE EARLY IF YOU CAN

I was lucky that I managed to save enough and through help of a friend I managed to settle early. I already had a mortgage and payplan did ask me to give them a valuation on the house in case they could get equity out of it. Given there wasn’t much equity, they let it go and the creditors accepted what I was offering. Settle early option is for those people who in future want to get a mortgage. Most of the high street lenders ask one of the following 3 questions on their mortgage application:

1. Have you ever been subject to an IVA or bankruptcy? E.g. Santander. They will never lend you again
2. Have you been subjected to an IVA in the last 6 years? E.g Natwest. Now this means from “discharge” date. In all likelihood they will not lend you anyway
3. Have you been subject to an IVA in the last 3 years? E.g. Metro bank, Post office mortgages etc. Again this is from discharge date. However, significant thing is that if your IVA has been discharged for 3 years then you DO NOT need to declare it as they don’t ask the question.

I appreciate that it is not possible for everyone but if you can settle early then it makes life easier. This means when all the defaults and IVA info falls off your credit history and you become clean again, you are closer to getting your home. As mentioned, above because I settled in Feb 13, I could apply for a mortgage and managed to get a mortgage as soon as 6 years passed from the start of my IVA

GET A GOOD BROKER

If you want a mortgage after an IVA, I cannot speak highly off Mike Jones from Zebra Finance. I had my fingers burnt from another broker and almost gave up hope when I somehow got hold of their details. He managed to get me a mortgage within a week and we are hoping to complete in a couple of weeks. Normal brokers do not understand the consequences of IVA and would go around destroying your credit file by putting unnecessary searches on it and so many rejections are not good for self-esteem either

BE HONEST

I ended up in a mess with the debt while I tried to set up a business. It was my fault alone but at least I tried to deal with it the best way I could and settled my dues in the best way I could. Therefore, be honest on any application that you fill. I applied for ICAEW membership after settling my IVA and declared it honestly. They asked me to provide the forms and then accepted my membership application. On All the mortgage forms, I have been honest and now I have a mortgage at the same rate that anyone else gets

REPAIRING CREDIT FILE:

I got a credit card the next day all the defaults and the IVA info fell off my credit history. They gave me a huge limit which I reduced myself. I intend to put through small amounts every month and have set up direct debit from my account to collect it in full every month. This will hopefully help repair my credit worthiness

I hope people find this thread useful and it gives people hope that there is a life after an IVA. The past will always remain with us but let’s hope for a better future and ensure we do not make the same mistakes again