No more false starts

Luckystepho

Hi


I went into an IVA in 2009 and can honestly say I had no issues. It was with PayPlan (I believe they're called Step Change now?) and I entered into an IVA as I had a property at the time that was let.


At the end of the five years I wasn't asked to get a valuation or pay an extra year- it just ended. Yes- you do have to make sure you keep up the repayments for five years but can honestly say it worked for me.



Now, a few year's later, my credit rating is excellent and the IVA has disappeared.

fatbelly

Luckystepho wrote: »

I went into an IVA in 2009 and can honestly say I had no issues. It was with PayPlan (I believe they're called Step Change now?)

They're two separate organisations - stepchange might have been CCCS going back that far. They're both well respected on these boards for their fee-free debt management plans.

As a property owner, bankruptcy would not have been a sensible option for you.

sourcrates

Hi Op,


An IVA @ £142.00 per month, really ?

Well that may be your starting point, but every year you have an annual review, and if your income increases, so do your payments.
Your arrangement may also have a clause in it that allows the IP to extend your arrangement at their discretion, some IVA`s can last 7 years or longer.

You have said yourself your income can be eratic, just under 25% of IVA `s don`t see year 3, as they are terminated for various reasons, mainly non payment.

Lots of people dont bother reading their paperwork when they recieve it, then come on these forums years later wondering why there IVA is still live.

Basically an IVA can be a long hard slog at times, if you are prepared to accept that up to 7 years of your life will be lived under the auspasis of the insolvency service, and you beleive you can maintain your payments for that length of time, then go ahead with the IVA, but if not, choose bankrupcy, to my mind its a much better deal.

ditty1234

An IVA @ £142.00 per month, really ?

Sourcrates
Does this mean a low or a high IVA? Sorry to be thick.
I have been approved for an IVA with credit fix, but I don't know at what point the fees kick in, they said at the end of April, bit can they take fees if the IVA is not approved by the creditors?
This is why I wanted a DMP in the first place as It is informal and does the main job if stopping the interest. (And yes I see the neon sign flashing in the background going Bankruptcy, and I might be buying nto the idea. )
I have stopped all payments from tomorrow for cc's and personal loan, so this is it. Should I call the bank or write them and let them know what is going on. I do not have the paperwork from CF yet so I will read carefully when I get it. I am assuming I have a 14 days 'to back out' as with all other transactions.
I have never missed a payment before and I am scared, but also determined to get some sort of solution.
I now have cold feet about the IVA mainly as im worried it won't really allow me to save up for emergencies - have elderly parent abroad).

sourcrates

ditty1234 wrote: »

Sourcrates
Does this mean a low or a high IVA? Sorry to be thick.
I have been approved for an IVA with credit fix, but I don't know at what point the fees kick in, they said at the end of April, bit can they take fees if the IVA is not approved by the creditors?
This is why I wanted a DMP in the first place as It is informal and does the main job if stopping the interest. (And yes I see the neon sign flashing in the background going Bankruptcy, and I might be buying nto the idea. )
I have stopped all payments from tomorrow for cc's and personal loan, so this is it. Should I call the bank or write them and let them know what is going on. I do not have the paperwork from CF yet so I will read carefully when I get it. I am assuming I have a 14 days 'to back out' as with all other transactions.
I have never missed a payment before and I am scared, but also determined to get some sort of solution.
I now have cold feet about the IVA mainly as im worried it won't really allow me to save up for emergencies - have elderly parent abroad).

Its actually quite low for an IVA, the creditors may not approve it, i`m not saying they will reject out of hand, but they will be looking for the best return possible, so they may ask you to adjust your payment, and the prospect of an extension to the arangement in year 6 is quite high as well.

Fee`s are paid out of your agreed monthly payments, you do not pay them on top, but it is a long slog, sometimes all can go swimmingly well, but lots of people find they havent budgeted correctly, and are short of cash every month, hence why the failure rate is fairly high.

All im saying is make sure you are aware of the commitment you are undertaking, thats all, my IVA was 6 years of bloody hard graft, if i had to do it all again, i would not hesitate to go down the bankrupcy route.

I`ve been through this senario, and Fatbelly is a CAB intermediary, so knows his stuff, i`d listen to what he says to be honest, but do get other opinions, if only for your own piece of mind, as its really imperitive you make the right choice here.

ditty1234

Hi all, this thread has been really good for me to learn things so far, but I now have my IVA agreement, and I feel I need some 1:1 personal advice, as I'm not good at reading legal documents. So any idea of how I can find somebody who might be able to help and give me final advice before I sign it?

Suffolk_lass

I suggest you pm sourcrates as (s)he is a board's guide. However, you should be able to access a solicitor via citizen's advice for a nominal fee for a 30 minute 121 discussion. If you look at sourcrates' signaure it contains links to the 3 publicly funded organisations that can help

ditty1234

Just reread whole thread, and to be fair I am still not much closer to making a decision. It seems like some people enter the DMP route even if they have over 10 years to go when they start. So I keep going back to that as the grown up version, where i pay everything. Eventually. I'm scared of the IVA, As my pay can vary up to 500 i"m worried about the response from CF. As mentioned I got the mail w all the papers from CF yesterday noon this afternoon they sent me 2 texts to sign and return papers or loose deal. I tried to call but did not get through. In the letter it says 10 days response time. So now I think they are being too bossy.
Anyways I think I need a bit more time. Will start to call bank and cards to let them know whats going on. Goodnight all.

ditty1234

Ok so have reset most direct debits, and completed a call to my bank to hold my current account and overdraft for 60 days for starters. Bank seemed pretty matter of fact about it, so thats a start.
Am hoping to talk to Stepchange on Monday and ideally a face to face with somebody at CAB in the next week or two.
After reading a lot of posts I have concluded that starting an IVA right now without any preparation, is a bit mad. My income is extremely low in the summer and I don't want to fail a programme before even starting it. I am also testing - actually living on a budget, no plastic, no shuffling.

ditty1234

To say that things are taking shape would be mad, but I am absolutely wiped out after spending all day on the phone w cc's and sc. But soon all will start to move forwards.
How do I move this thread to Debt Free Diaries? As I'll be in this game for the long haul.
Reading on this board has been incredibly informative and empowering.
Thanks so far.