IVA Approved! My Journey.

LutonStudent

Hello All,
I thought it would be a good idea to post my experience of the IVA process as when I was searching for information if was very limited or outdated. 
It came to realisation in May 2020 that I was in a pickle, I had lived beyond my means since I got my first credit card at 18. By the time I finished my studies and moved out and started a career I had amassed £31k in unsecured borrowing - with the zero percents about to come to an end I panicked that there was no way I could pay this back on my £20k salary. 

I contacted National Debt Relief who were very helpful and referred me to McCambridge Duffy LLP who within three weeks put forward a proposal and and organised a meeting of creditors. Initially the payment was £200 per month which is very reasonable considering my payments would have been over triple this when the interest free periods expired. 

The reason I chose an IVA over BR is purely for the stigma around it. BR is available on the gazette for life and I honestly do want to pay back what I can towards my debt as I feel I have a responsibility to do so. I'm 26 how and by 31 I will have a clean slate to start with, build my credit up and get a mortgage in my mid to late 30's - that's the plan anyway!

I was really panicked that the IVA would not be approved - however, all of my 12 creditors voted to accept my proposal - there were a few modifications one of them being an increase in monthly payments to £212 per month. Which is fine, as my partner is contributing towards the payments too as a small majority of the debt was hers. 

Once the IVA proposal was submitted I had one last blow out and booked a £1k holiday on a whim with a card which had £15k available credit - I knew that even if they rejected the proposal it wouldn't really matter - to my surprise, they accepted it! 

So, here I am....on the road to debt recovery, without even one arrears letter! You don't have to default on credit payments or be in a bad place to take an IVA. My circumstances were going to get bad and I took action before that happened. I am so glad I did this sooner rather than later. £50,000 was available to me on credit cards before my proposal was accepted - I'm 26, I have learned my lesson with debt and hopefully I will never get into a rut again. 

Any questions - please feel free to ask.

simpsons12

Hi I’m just starting my journey too (am at the beginning and liaising with debt advisors who are ready to put a proposal together for me), your post has given me some much needed reassurance. Do you have a contact at Debt Relief and at McCambridge Duffy please? I almost used Creditfix but read some worrying reviews.

Also how long did it take to get it started? I’m hoping I can start mine this side of Christmas. Thanks in advance 

sourcrates

simpsons12 said:

Hi I’m just starting my journey too (am at the beginning and liaising with debt advisors who are ready to put a proposal together for me), your post has given me some much needed reassurance. Do you have a contact at Debt Relief and at McCambridge Duffy please? I almost used Creditfix but read some worrying reviews.

Also how long did it take to get it started? I’m hoping I can start mine this side of Christmas. Thanks in advance 

Don`t rush into things just yet, how much debt do you have, are you a homeowner or not ?

Debt collection takes forvever, there is no urgency here.

fatbelly

As a first port of call if you have problem debts, contact one of the organisations in Sourcrates' signature: Stepchange, National Debtline or CAB. These are able to give impartial advice and have long-established reputations.

If you contact an IVA-pusher you will be pushed into an IVA and for most people this is not the best strategy.

If you go to a commercial debt management company for a debt management plan you will be charged a monthly fee, and the last thing you need when in debt, is someone else to pay money to.

Fee-free plans are available through Stepchange, Payplan and Christians against Poverty.

Simpsons - you should start your own thread.

Peter1953

I too recently went through the process. DMP I was a divided not to take, as they can increase payments if they wish. I was recently approved for my 5 year plan with an affordable payment, leaving me with a first time opportunity to managed my budget, and have money to spend a save . I had an excellent experience going through Faith Financial Solutions with my own personalised consultant Amin. Any questions I had to ask, he was there almost 24/7. I can still speak to him now if I wish. Eventually I had an IVA that was agreed 100% by all creditors , through Forest King Insolvency . At last no stress, no more accruing interest. Every debt paid off, no more hassle from debtors any more,Best decision I made for a very long time. They are all non judgemental, and are simply there to make your life a lot easier. 

fatbelly

This thread is starting to smell a bit spammy