Advice please

[BrassicLintus]

Hi Holly, just to add to what others have said - please please please think very carefully before taking out a consolidation loan. It can be the start of a very slippery downward slope!!! It's so easy to think that you'll pay everyone off and be debt free but you have to factor in your monthly loan repayments when calucalting your outgoings. And if you're thinking about buying a property soon you'll have increased expenditure to deal with. There are a lot of people (myself a prime example) that have been caught in this trap. I took out loans to pay off other loans, only to find that I needed to use my credit cards for essentials as my loan repayments ate up all my spare cash!!!! I don't mean to frighten you - but I'd recommend that you contact a few companies and get some expert impartial advice - through personal experience I highly recommend Melanie Giles - once you're given all the options you can then make an informed choice! If only I had found this website several years earlier - I may well have not ended up bankrupt!!! Good luck in whatever you decide to do and keep posting to let us know how you're doing.

[Skippy]

I was in exactly the same situation as Brassic. I had a credit card, and then I got a loan for a car, the car didn't last the length of the loan so I got a consolidation loan and in the mean time the credit card balance was going up and up.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[Holly_madi]

Also another quick question. I have been finding out all the in's and out's of an IVA and weighing up the Pro's and Cons and believe me there is lots to think about. But can you still borrow money for example use my credit card or still have my overdeaft?

[douglass]

Hi Holly - please be careful with consolidation. Ensure you destroy all cards etc, and cancel your overdrafts. I consolidated twice, and am now in a position where I have to file for bankruptcy, because I kept spending after I had consolidated. Good luck, whatever route you choose, and keep posting - everyone on here will try to help you. D.

[MelanieGiles]

You will not be allowed to take that sort of credit out whilst you are subject to IVA proceedings. And any credit can only be taken with the permission of the IVA Supervisor.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[ray_a]

Basically to consolidate should really be treated as an IVA and I wish I had done this.

You need to cut up all your credit cards and overdraft bearing bank accounts. stop all the store cards and treat the consolidation loan as a form of IVA!

If you are not prepared to do this then you will face an IVA or bankruptcy in a few years time!

[johnpaul]

hi melanie does that inclued mobiles phones and virgin media after your iva as been set up they are now classed as credit so is getting a bank account

JOHNPAUL

[BrassicLintus]

I have virgin media and a mobile phone and I'm BR! But the BR allowances tend to be a bit more generous than in IVA so I don't know if these would be classed as "luxurys" in an IVA and disallowed. But Holi, an IVA is not an easy route to take, its a way of paying back as much as you can over a set period of time with regular monthly repayments. Work out what your monthly outgoings are (food, rent, clothes, utilities etc) and then work out what your surplus is. The idea of an IVA is that you are allowed enough money to pay essentials and any money left over is paid over to your creditors. So if you work out your budget properly then you shouldn't need to take credit out (and probably won't be allowed to!). Why do you think you would need to use your credit card or overdraft if you were in an IVA? I would seriously contact a professional for advice - as you say there is a lot of information out there on IVA's and DMP's and it can get a little confusing!

[johnpaul]

hi brassiclinus contract phones you can have in a iva and virgin media or sky you can have lots more things in a iva while if you go bankrupt the creditors will rule you with what you can have and can not have

JOHNPAUL

[BrassicLintus]

It's not the creditors that have the say in BR Johnpaul, it's the OR (who is obviously representing them) and my OR actually upped some of my allowances as he didn't feel I'd allowed enough (even though i put down exactly what I spend!). But I was allowed much more in BR than I would have been in an IVA, and I think you'll find most people who have gone down the BR route would agree.

[Skippy]

I disagree Johnpaul - my allowances in BR are much more realistic than they were in my IVA. For example I pay all the food and grocery bills for Dave and I and in an IVA I was allowed £200, and in BR I was allowed £350 (I can't eat very much dairy and non dairy food seems to be much more expensive). I also have a holiday allowance and hairdressing allowance, neither of which I had in an IVA.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[johnpaul]

hi skippy had a ip advisor come up to my house i will show you want he put for me

rent £220
mobile phone £25
life ins £5
other travel costs £70
food and housekeeping £150
clothing £30
tv £26
internet £18


JOHNPAUL

[aguise]

Hi john Paul are the amounts sufficient for you.Do your live on your own. it is important to make sure you have enough to live on.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[johnpaul]

hi ang the amounts are fine i live with mu mum and dad now

JOHNPAUL

[aguise]

Thats the main thing then as long as they are enough you should be fine. Remember to budget for the month and save a bit for the extras and you will do fine. I have found the time flying by and have just made payment no 10 only 50 left.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/