Had IVA 2 years ago. Paid off. Options for career change loan (£10000).

Mike10102

Hi everyone, 

Thanks for allowing me to post in the forum. I'm a big fan of MSE and Martin Lewis.

Anyway, my questions :-)

I'm a 40 year old would-be career changer learning Software Engineering via a NON-university path that I'm very happy with. I've been doing so for approximately a year and a half whilst working full time.

Anyway, my progress has been good but slow. In an ideal world I would like to take out a loan (£10,000) to allow me to work part-time for a year to allow me to study more. I'm reasonably confident in a year or so I could start a career in this field.

My only issues is that was approximately 2 years ago I paid of an IVA voluntary debt arrangement I had of £8000 or so that I had for a number of years.

My question is:

1) Is getting credit even an option for me?

2) What are my options regarding credit in this situation?
Best case to worst case? (E g. Best case high interest bloan at company x worst case from friends and family).

3) What avenues would you recommend I try first?
I presume I'd have to be targeted as I'd have a high failure rate. My bank Santander refused me a £500 overdraft even after IVA was discharged so I presume my credit is horrendous.

4) Or any other tips regarding my predicament?

Thank you for any and all advice to help me recover from my foolishness 😃

Mike10102

Also, for reference my current salary is £18,000 per year. Work history of approximately 7 years in current role. Thanks again. Quasi-goverment role if this opens up any additional options.

[Deleted User]

Applying for a loan while knowing you're going to have a drop income will be problematic, as you'll be expected to declare it. £8k on an £18k is a reasonable ask even with a good credit history - if that income is dropping to perhaps half, it'll be virtually impossible.

If friends and family are sufficiently generous, that would be the only realistic route. However, they'll need to go into with their eyes open and the knowledge they may not get their money back. 

Personally, I would just get my head down and work as hard as possible in the time you have available. A reduced income and increased debt doesn't seem the right solution for you.

sourcrates

You won`t get finance of any kind with an insolvency on your file, assuming its still on there.

You say you paid off your IVA two years ago, with the average IVA lasting five years, I'm assuming it no longer appears on your credit file ?

That being the case what else is on there that is resulting in refusal, have you checked all of your credit files with the various CRA`s ?

Mike10102

Thank you for the replies. 

That's a shame it doesn't look that bright for me. Yes, foolish missteps from a few years ago seem quite tough to recover from. I presumed my options would be pretty limited but I didn't realize this bleak as it wasn't all the money in the world (e g. Not mortgage level debt).

I haven't checked my CRA reports. So I don't know why. 

Zx81 yes I've been studying after work for a few hours every night for the past 18 months. It is pretty slow going though. I'm so drained after my shifts that quality of study isn't great. I genuinely believe a year of dedicated time and I'd be job worthy fairly confidently.

So it's pretty hopeless it appears 🥺

MalMonroe

Mike10102 said:

Thank you for the replies. 

That's a shame it doesn't look that bright for me. Yes, foolish missteps from a few years ago seem quite tough to recover from. I presumed my options would be pretty limited but I didn't realize this bleak as it wasn't all the money in the world (e g. Not mortgage level debt).

I haven't checked my CRA reports. So I don't know why. 

Zx81 yes I've been studying after work for a few hours every night for the past 18 months. It is pretty slow going though. I'm so drained after my shifts that quality of study isn't great. I genuinely believe a year of dedicated time and I'd be job worthy fairly confidently.

So it's pretty hopeless it appears 🥺

Nay lad, nay! Please don't despair. You're only 40, working full time and you are studying part time. Don't give up! You can do this, many people do. It does sound as if it's going to be well worth it in the end. It sounds like you are going through a bit of a rough patch, we all hit them. It's probably because you are exhausted and aren't getting enough sleep. Seems as if it's all work, work, work at the moment with no fun times. Be kind to yourself, try to have a couple of hours off now and then. 

I would recommend looking at your credit reports though because although it may feel daunting, things may not actually be as bad as you fear.

Even if they are bad, you can see what's wrong and put things right. 

But please don't lose hope, things can only get better and they will, believe me. I've been in much worse financial trouble than you, I'm older than you and I've come out at the other end. Not richer by any means but it's been a struggle for a few years. There are many others on this very site who have made financial errors - some worse and some better than yours - we have all survived. You can too. In fact, you really do seem to be over the very worst part. 

The world is your oyster! And I'm not just saying that. So don't give up now. You're only 40!  And you have a job. And you're also working towards a new career. I'd say you are doing really well.   

Jami74

Mike10102 said

Anyway, my progress has been good but slow. In an ideal world I would like to take out a loan (£10,000) to allow me to work part-time for a year to allow me to study more. I'm reasonably confident in a year or so I could start a career in this field.

Have you looked to see if there are any apprenticeships where you earn while you learn? Search for apprenticeships on the Gov.uk website.

Mike10102

Thanks for the advice.
Yes, maybe looking at CRA report and seeing what it says could be helpful. Yes, exhaustion was high yesterday when I wrote.

I have looked into apprenticeships before and actually spent a year at university/work with a "graduate apprenticeship" scheme through my employer and although I passed the year I really didn't find it very suitable for a number of reasons so didn't return for the second year and I'm still very happy with that choice.

Yes, I've definitely not taken the shortest route lol 😆