Advice Before IVA Has Been Agreed.

[FreshStart2k8]

Good evening all,

This is my first post so please be gentle.

My wife and I have decided to make the decision of applying for an IVA and approached clear start who have given us details of the allowences etc and monthyl IVA payment which we are happy with.

They are due to forward the details to us and in the meantime I am beginning to collate the statements etc for the credit cards/loans that are to be included in the IVA.

One issue that was not made clear and I have been left a little confused by the conflicting messages on other web site forums is do I pay so called token payments to the bills that have now fallen due this month? Other sites are saying yes and no and are also recommending that we refer creditors to the IP but I wasnt given a reference number.

Any advice? - the suggested repayment works out at just over 51p in every pound.

Many thanks!

[Adam Davies]

Hi
First thing is to approach another one or two IVA companies for a second opinion,also check out IVA.com for feedback on Clearstart.
Your IP should advise you on what to do about token or no token payments,another reason for you to get a second opinion.
Personally I would make no payments
Regards

[kallis3]

Hi Freshstart, and welcome to the forum.

I agree with Andy, I wouldn't make any payments. We stopped before our IVA was agreed. You just have to put up with the letters and phone calls from creditors.

I also agree that you should check out some more IP's before making your decision.

[emma_t]

Hi freshstart and welcome to the forum

I approached a company and was advised to try and propose and iva but I did not feel they were easy to get hold of when I had questions and I did not feel informed. Thats when I found the forum and decided to approach another IP, I was so glad I did as I was informed all along and could phone and ask any questions that I needed answers to. I felt a lot more comfortable than with the first company I approached, so I would advise to get at least one other opinion.
As Andy suggests www.iva.com is a great place to check reviews of iva providers.

Also this forum was a tower of strength and knowledge to me and I made more informed decisions because of the knowledge I gained from it.
Good luck
Emma .

PS - I thought clearstart had now transfered all ivas to debt free direct. I may be wrong but forum members seem to be with dfd now when they started off with cs - so may be worthwhile checking dfd feedback x

[MelanieGiles]

I thought that Clearstart had ceased trading - so it is interesting to see that they are still taking on cases following their acquisition by Debt Free Direct.

[Soulgrowth]

Hello Freshstart ... welcome to the Forum.

Once you have decided that you wish to go down the IVA route and made a decision as to who to use as your IP to represent you then I would stop making payments and use the money instead to build up a contingency fund.

You are doing the right thing ... and you wont look back. Keep in touch with the Forum as you are amongst friends here and we will support you all the way [:)]

Good luck

[FreshStart2k8]

Thanks All for your responses!!

Do you think we have anything to worry about regarding transfer to DFD as we really want to get this moving along.

[TheMatrix]

I personally would look towards a smaller practice, put please do not pay the up front fees like I did. There is no need to. Just go straight to a IP.

Many recommend Melanie on this forum, seems she has a lot of clients on here too.

[FreshStart2k8]

Thanks for the advice.

We have just logged an enquiry on Melanie's site.

[Kazzy E]

Hi FreshStart. Give Melanie a call. Her staff are fantastic and give you clear, concise, professional advice. You do not pay any up front fees with Melanie and she would probably advise you to stop paying your creditors from now to enable you to save a bit of contingency. Paying them will make no difference anyway. You may need to open a basic bank account if you have debt with your current bank. I have called them at 8.00am and always manage to speak to someone even as late as 6pm. We have our creditors meeting on Friday and everything has been plain sailing so far for us, and we don't have the easiest of creditors. Certainly worth giving her a call. Good luck with whoever you decide. Kazzy x

[tori]

hi there freshstart.i can only echo everything kazzy has said.i too am with melanie's team,and i cant believe how quickly and smoothly the iva process has run up to now.i have felt totally reassured and protected for the last 8 weeks.and although an iva wasnt something i had included in my life plan,it's happened,and now i just have to deal with it,but having none judgemental advice,help and support on hand whatever the time of day makes things so much more bearable.x

[rachellxx39]

Hi WELCOME,We have just been transfered to Dfd from Clearstart. Clearstart have merged with Dfd, and personally (not speaking for everyone on this site) it has been a complete nightmare . As Melanie has posted im surprised that they are taking cases on !!! If i had the choice i wouldnt go with Dfd but that is your choice and not mine . They are not being too helpful with our ivas at the moment. Good Luck with whatever you decide .Rachell

[Lisa2009]

Hello and a big warm welcome to the forum. I agree with what inaiva has said. The smaler companies seem far better and you would deffinately get a more personal service.
One problem with the bigger firms is communication and its often impossible to speak to someone that knows what they are talking about, let alone your IP.

Good luck on your journey to debt freedom and keep intouch with the forum and let us know how you are getting on xxx

[Nadia]

I have just recieved my pack from DfD. I think I will give Melenie a call. So far I have seen great feedback and have recieved good adive from her on this forum.
Melenie which documents do you usually need bank statements etc.Shall I start to collect these before I complete a form on your website?

Also I was advised by DfD to make token paymentsto all of my creditors of my surplus income divided by my creditors which I did on Friday to two of them. Shall I now make a token payment to the other two or keep this as emergency money? I wish I had read this earlier I sent £300 to my creditors.[?]
Melenie What

Hello and a big warm welcome to the forum. I agree with what inaiva has said. The smaler companies seem far better and you would deffinately get a more personal service.
One problem with the bigger firms is communication and its often impossible to speak to someone that knows what they are talking about, let alone your IP.

Good luck on your journey to debt freedom and keep intouch with the forum and let us know how you are getting on xxx

[Kazzy E]

Hi Nadia, you won't regret calling Melanie's team. They are great!! [:)] Good luck, Kazzy x