Massive personal loans and other debt - IVA options?

gambledent

Hi all
First of all sorry if this is in the wrong area, I can hardly think straight with my current situation.
I've had massive debts build up from gambling. £176k in total. I know... it's nuts. I'm a dentist set up as a sole trader and have tried to speak with StepChange but they won't help, they've referred me to BusinessDebtLine.

I have 4 personal loans totalling: £69,000
£18,500.00 - 17.90%
£7,500.00 - 16.90%
£18,000.00 - 12.80%
£25,000 - 6.7%

Credit cards (3 different ones) total: £8,811
Overdraft across 2 current accounts: £11,800
I also owe multiple friends and family £86,550

BusinessDebtLine said bankruptcy, IVA were my only options.
Is it true that I need a financial adviser to help me with an IVA?
Will an IVA ruin me forever?

I'm also really worried that if the dental council finds out then I could risk losing my profession!

Willing2Learn

Hi,

To answer your question - An IVA will not 'ruin you forever'. There are always options, and none of them will 'ruin you'.

Have you knocked the gambling on the head? Do you need support to help you address your gambling addiction? Did you know that there is evidence to indicate that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be successfully used to treat problem gambling? You might want to consider talking therapy as part of a holistic solution to your current situation.

What do you plan to do with the debts owed to your family and friends?

I think, that in the first instance, you should complete a Statement of Affairs (SOA) so that you can see your exact financial circumstances in an easy-to-read format. Feel free to post up your SOA in a thread on the main Debt-Free Wannabe (DFW) board, if you think it can be beneficial.

fatbelly

gambledent wrote: »

Hi all
First of all sorry if this is in the wrong area, I can hardly think straight with my current situation.
I've had massive debts build up from gambling. £176k in total. I know... it's nuts. I'm a dentist set up as a sole trader and have tried to speak with StepChange but they won't help, they've referred me to BusinessDebtLine.

I have 4 personal loans totalling: £69,000
£18,500.00 - 17.90%
£7,500.00 - 16.90%
£18,000.00 - 12.80%
£25,000 - 6.7%

Credit cards (3 different ones) total: £8,811
Overdraft across 2 current accounts: £11,800
I also owe multiple friends and family £86,550

BusinessDebtLine said bankruptcy, IVA were my only options.
Is it true that I need a financial adviser to help me with an IVA?
Will an IVA ruin me forever?

I'm also really worried that if the dental council finds out then I could risk losing my profession!

I would suggest that this is best on the bankruptcy board (or the IVA sub-board) rather than the loans board. I make that 245k debt

You will need to take specialist advice from within your profession about the effect of insolvency on your career.

Broadly speaking, an IVA is preferable to Bankruptcy if you own property with equity as it gives a good chance of protecting the property. IVAs are done through an Insolvency Practitioner, for bankruptcy you self-petition.

gambledent

Thanks for the advice already Willing2Learn and fatbelly. Boo_star, I wish this was a joke, but I don't know what you think I'm going to gain by wasting people's time here.

I make that 245k debt

Just to clarify, it's about £176k on initial principals loaned, the £18.5, 7.5, 18 and 25k loans are what total £69k, not in addition to the £69k.

I live in a property owned by my parents so I don't have equity to lose, my only asset is a car that I need for travel to work at practices out of town. Does that make bankruptcy a better option?

Have you knocked the gambling on the head? Do you need support to help you address your gambling addiction? Did you know that there is evidence to indicate that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be successfully used to treat problem gambling? You might want to consider talking therapy as part of a holistic solution to your current situation.

I'm getting help with the gambling. I told my family about all of this a few weeks ago, my cousin has installed gamstop on my phone and laptop. Right now I'm not even thinking about visiting those sites, I've realised I need to get out of this mess. I'll look at the therapies you've mentioned.

What do you plan to do with the debts owed to your family and friends?

This is the worst bit as I've managed to in-debt myself to so many individuals at varying amounts. I do earn a fair bit with my work so I need to agree some way to pay off the existing loans and also keeps some aside to pay off friends and family bit by bit, my plan is to start with the largest amounts and those who need it back the most first.

I've done an SOA (i think) using BusinessDebtLine's website so maybe I can share that?
Noted re: IVA needing an Insolvency Practitioner

foxy-stoat

gambledent wrote: »

I'm also really worried that if the dental council finds out then I could risk losing my profession!

You owe over £86000 to family and friends and your worried about your job? I would be more worried about being taken out!

You wouldn't be able to include the debt from family and friends so I would try the IVA route with the proper debt look to repay your family and friends in full after the IVA finishes.

Maybe sell you house or down value the car if you can.

Rainbowgirl84

foxy-stoat wrote: »

You owe over £86000 to family and friends and your worried about your job? I would be more worried about being taken out!

You wouldn't be able to include the debt from family and friends so I would try the IVA route with the proper debt look to repay your family and friends in full after the IVA finishes.

Maybe sell you house or down value the car if you can.

What house?

foxy-stoat

Rainbowgirl84 wrote: »

What house?

You would like to think that a professional that is able to service that much debt will have a house and mortgage.....folk leaning towards an IVA over Bankruptcy would have property to protect.

I may be totally wrong though.

Silvertabby

foxy-stoat wrote: »

You would like to think that a professional that is able to service that much debt will have a house and mortgage.....folk leaning towards an IVA over Bankruptcy would have property to protect.

I may be totally wrong though.

live in a property owned by my parents so I don't have equity to lose, my only asset is a car that I need for travel to work at practices out of town.

No property assets.

Ergates

foxy-stoat wrote: »

You would like to think that a professional that is able to service that much debt will have a house and mortgage.....folk leaning towards an IVA over Bankruptcy would have property to protect.

I may be totally wrong though.

As per OP above:

gambledent wrote: »

I live in a property owned by my parents so I don't have equity to lose

Edit: Ninja'd. Note to self, refresh page before posting...

sourcrates

I have requested this thread be moved to the bankrupcy/IVA sub board, so when it disapears, thats where you will find it.

Op you say you have no assets, so why are you contemplating an IVA ?
IVA`s are mainly designed for homeowners who have massive debts but also have their property or other assets to protect, what disposable income do you have ?

We need to see a statement of affairs before any further advice can be given :


http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php


Fill that in, as accuratly as possible, don`t forget to format for MSE at the bottom.

macman

Do dentists really operate on the same lines as hairdressers in that they can 'rent a chair' (and presumably a drill as well) at another surgery?
I assumed that you rented your surgery and would have an appreciable amount invested in expensive dental equipment, so my suggestion was that you protect your business assets by putting them into a limited company, so that the business can continue to trade despite your personal financial situation. However it seems you have no such assets to protect?