A weight lifted......i hope

[Mutley1968]

Well, it had to happen, i have been playing the shuffling game of delaying one card to pay a diffrent card, normally late and incurring charges, which ofcourse did not help, for too long.
I even went the route of selling a few possessions to raise funds, i actually thought that would work, not that what i sold was valuable, just that i thought i could gradually reduce the cards by a little piece at a time.
Needless to say, now that my possessions are less, my debt is still where it was and its not going anywhere.
So, after looking about and reading many many posts on this site i contacted an IVA company and started the ball rolling, to be honest i had no idea what to expect as i thought my debt was so big that no company would be able to help..............oh how wrong i was, i have never been so happy to be so wrong.
i can honestly say that after an hour of chatting and providing details of my circumstances, my mind was put so much at ease that i can see a light at the end of a tunnel, and thats before my first payment, or even knowing where the tunnel starts
After confirming a few more details tonight and setting up a "think banking" account, all i have to do now is wait for some forms to sign to arrive and send back the relevant paperwork.
However i have one question (actually i have lots), i was told by my IP to stop paying my creditors, 4 credit cards, 1 store card & an overdraft and to take all my money out of my current account after my last direct debit is taken (the direct debits will get picked up again from my new account)the money in my account is technically my wages which i have to live on till next pay day.
Is it right to stop paying altogether or should i make token payments of say £20 each to each of my creditors until my IVA is approved.......i hope
I was told that once the letters and bills come in, i should just send them to my IP for her to deal with, and when i get the inevitable calls, i should just state that i am currently negotiating an IVA and pass along my IP's name & number.

Is that right ?, will a token payment be better than just sitting and paying nothing ?

sorry about the waffling, it just helps to sort out the confusion in my head if i write/type it down.
Thanks
Art

[Wizzzard]

Welcome to the Forum Mutley1968. Things should start to look brighter now that you've taken that first step to a debt free future. Do as your provider says in relation to withholding payments. This will give you a buffer for when your IVA begins. Talk to your provider and they will tell you what you need to tell your creditors when they come a knocking .. and they will contact you on a regular basis ... pass them onto your provider ... that's what they are there for. You know you owe tham money ... you've admitted as much and you are doing something about it so don't be bullied. There are many on this Forum who can help and support you ... use them, they will be more than happy to help.

Good luck.

[kallis3]

Hi and welcome from me as well.

So glad that you are managing to get yourself sorted.

I notice that you have set up a Thinkbanking account. Have you thought about someone like the Co-op where you don't have any monthly fees?

If you stop paying your creditors then you can build up a bit of a contingency fund. You will get letters and phone calls regardless.

[andrea1968]

Good luck mutley1968-are you with freeman jones? If so you are in very good hands-they have supported us from day one and there professional and friendly approach is exceptional.
We were advised the same as you have been and did not make any token payments and everything went as planned.
fingers crossed and keep us posted.

[kallis3]

Make sure that you read through your paperwork carefully before signing anything. Your I&E should be affordable.

You will get hassle whether you make token payments or not, the choice is yours. Don't be bullied by the call centre operatives though.

[Foggy]

Hi and welcome. Well done on having that moment of clarity that brought us all here !

As said above, no need to make token payments, save the money for a contingency fund ( and possibly your first payment into your IVA ).

Once I had taken the step to IVA I started to actually enjoy the calls from creditors ( even though I got off lightly) ... I just used to let them waffle on and then say I was starting an IVA, give them my IP's details and leave it at that --- for once I had the upper hand! It gets even better if you have a call or two AFTER the IVA has been accepted ... you can be as rude as you like and they can't touch you!

To be fair to the call centre operators, many of them don't even know what an IVA is ( do you get IVA's in Pakistan ? ).

[kallis3]

Must admit that all of my calls were from English call centres (mostly Liverpool!) but I never used to answer them and just used to delete the messages they left for me.

I did enjoy telling them about acceptance though!

[Foggy]

Only the AA rang me from the UK. The others were from exotic places (actually that is the OPERATORS were ... might have been Birmingham in reality!). But the foreign call centre operators are so much more polite! (Off topic) but when I was with AOL, I used to love ringing them up in Dublin ... LOVE the accent !!

[kallis3]

I used to like speaking to AOL as well. BT were a nightmare when we had broadband with them - they were very polite but most of the time I couldn't understand them and vice versa!

[leaKybrain]

Hi mutley, well done on the first step being taken, its nervewracking but now you're on the right path.

We stopped paying all the creditors (3 cards, loan, OD and catalogue). we immediately opened a natwest account, notified wages department and then rang each and every one of the other payments due to change in direct debit and gave them the new bank details. I then cancelled each one on the HSBC website. I cancelled the card ones but of course I never gave new bank details to them. Once hubby's wages had gone into the new account we knew everythign was working properly.

We wrote a single letter to every one of the creditors and told them that we were entering an IVA and then ignored the phone. Only ever answered once and when they asked me to confirm my date of birth i told them no, and that I was not prepared to talk to them. Phone down, end of call. They did try ringing a lot though, but HSBC are foreign call centres and they never ever left a message. Mind you neither did the catalogue. No idea if MBNA ever tried ringing cos their number might have been hidden too.

Its a scary time, right up to that meeting of the creditors but you are doing the right thing.

[Mutley1968]

First Thing, Thankyou for all the well wishes and kind comments, it's nice to know that i am not the only person out there with these circumstances (not that i wish this on anybody)
I think i may have struck lucky with my first attempt at sorting myself out, i am with Freeman Jones and from what i have read and researched, they are a firm to be trusted, also based on my first conversation with a helpful lady called Kirsty, soon as i put the phone down after an hour long chat about things, i felt like a weight really had been lifted
I went with the Think Banking option because it looked to be the easiest and quickest option to get an account set up, i spoke to my work finance officer who told me i had to notify them of a change of bank by midday on thursday or i would have to wait till march, which may have held things up a bit
Plus i sort of like the idea of the money for debits being put aside before i get at it, although i have never missed a direct debit payment in all the years i had a Lloyds current account, my mortgage was always something i never messed with, me losing my house would be a shame, my mother losing the house because of me would be unthinkable!
I may revisit the bank account option at a later date, i was just so eager to start
I am also looking at my current Sky subscription, i am not on a super package, but i figure the £5.00 a month i will save by dropping it down to the basic package to keep my internet will come in handy, as pennies will definetly start to count from now on (i actually thought i would be told that i could not have Sky anymore as it was a luxury)
I will be closely looking at all of my debits once i am up and running, life insurance and home insurance, to see where savings can be made (do i have to notify my IP if i change my debits to reduced amounts ?, i suspect between them all it might only be about £20 a month)
I will follow the advice and stop paying my creditors, there going to be annoyed at me anyway, either by not paying the right amount or not paying at all, i was just nervous because its my overdraft i am living off (if thats what this is called)so i would be maxing it out, although it was explained by my IP that technically it's my wages......which sort of makes sense.
I realise that money will be tight from now on, and i will have to be careful, but atleast its my money, all mine, not the banks, not the credit card companies, all mine
Art
"Life is looking sunnier today"

[Foggy]

Art, yes, I have heard good things about FJ. The main thing is that they do a good job and that you are comfortable with them.

On the reducing things like Sky subs, etc. If your creditors agree to, say, a £30 per month subscription and you later reduce this to £25, the saving will become part of an increase in your disposable income and will end up going into the IVA "pot" (or at least 50% of it, according to the relevant clause in your proposal).

Best of luck.

[kallis3]

You are actually only allowed a basic Sky package - if you have anything more then it will have to be funded by savings fromother allowances. I think it is £22 a month at the moment.

I have that plus internet and phone with them and the latter are allowed on top of the basic TV package.

[Foggy]

Shhhhhh ... <<looks furtively around >> Mine was agreed at £47

[Mutley1968]

Well, here we go, my paperwork was sent back to Freeman Jones on friday and should be with them on monday or tuesday.
I had to contact my IP twice before i sent it, once to help with a couple of worries i had and the other to check i put everything in the post, i guess the mountains of bills i kept came in handy afterall
Now i begin the waiting game................i expect the phonecalls to begin sometime next week............should be interesting.