IVA Annual Review & Gambling

[Deleted User]

I'm 28 and had my first annual IVA review in April 2021, currently paying £150 a month. Debts came to around 26,000 just from credit cards, loans, store credit etc. No mortgage, never owned a car so that's fortunate, I think. They asked for last three months' bank statements and payslips, and to review your income and expenditure form and correct it if need be. I accidentally sent them December's as I jumped the gun and should have waited to send Jan, Feb and Mar instead. I worked overtime and got a bonus at Christmas so ended up earning about 400 over my usual wage that month. Due to lockdown I spent my money on shopping and gambling instead of going out, which was all over my bank statement. So that's an extra income I didn't declare and gambling transactions for maybe about the same amount - which obviously worried me.
About a month and a bit later they called me and said because of earnings in December I owed £368 however, they quickly wrote this off due to me paying a £500 private dental bill and a £99 vet excess in that 12 month period. They seemed to egg me on to fill out other expenses and put everything in the maximum bracket despite me saying I was I spent a lower amount, but my payments are now going to be £211 a month which initially showed to be £498 due to my disposable income. No mention of my spending on gambling or shopping.
Maybe I've been lucky, maybe they've snuck me under the radar - but I know I've been honest.

4 years to go, hope it works out and that this post was useful - I couldn't find anything myself online that reassured me in terms of earning more than declared and especially gambling, only that IVA companies don't look at your transactions on your statements anyway, they just scan it for big sums apparently. So far, highly recommend Financial Support Systems.