Hi all
Well its been nearly 3 months since we took the plunge and made the first phone call to an IVA advice line.
Just seems, after 3 months, two set up payments and a lot of expense in letters and phone calls, we are still no nearer getting things sorted out.
The problem it seems is thus.
My wife and I have seperate credit cards with the same creditor in our own names only (ie not joint)in addition to other debts.
All the rest of the debt is in my name.
When the IVA was first discussed, we were told to include her credit card into the agreement as the IVA was going to be a joint thing. So we stopped paying the minimums on that as well.
Now, our proposal has got to the IP, he is suggesting that my wife now try and set up a payment proposal for that debt only and I apply for the IVA to cover just the debts in my name, with a provision for monthly payments to my wife's credit card, as it will give our proposal a better chance for success.
My instant reactions to this is
1) We arent going to be debt free at the end of the IVA.
2) The chances are we are going to be continually hassled to increase our payments to this creditor throughout the term of the IVA.
3) Throughout the whole set up we were told to include this debt, we werent actually in arrears with this card at the time of application for the IVA, now we are!
4) The creditor in question is HSBC, surely if they accept the proposals on my credit card as part of the main debt, they wouldnt refuse my wife's card... in fact if we did try and make a seperate arrangement surely that would affect my ability to pay everyone else in favour of that one creditor, so it would make it better for HSBC to reject the IVA and go after an arrangement direct, and therefore make the IVA less attractive to all the other creditors too?
5) We were told at the beginning that we had a fairly standard and straight forward application, the last comments make me wonder how likely we are in even getting it accepted.
6) We have signed loads of forms giving our IP and their associates authority to discuss our financial matters with all our creditors, and yet WE are always asked to try and sort out extra information that is needed from them. Surely they would be better suited to try and negotiate a payment plan for my wife then she is? We just seem to have handed over £500 and other than a couple of glossy brochures and a typed up agreement, we have done all the work ourselves? Is this normal?
Felt a huge weight lifted after the initial phone calls, now it just seems to be up in the air again
P
