anxious and need a bit of guidance please

[bev.nn]

Hi - My IVA has been in place for a year now. We still owe school fees which were incurred whilst IVA was going through and also because we could not remove our daughter immediately as there were no places available at Local middle school.The debt was classed as 'joint debt' and, as the IVA is not joint (solely in my name)my hubby was therefore responsible for the debt.

The outstanding balance was over 6k last year but with overtime payments we have managed to reduce this to 4k - the school accepted our offer of £200 per month to reduce the debt.

Now all of a sudden they are demanding this debt be significantly reduced - quickly, and have threatened us with solicitors to recover the full and outstanding amount. Is this legal? Its not as if we are refusing to pay. The school are well aware of our circumstances, the IVA etc and I'd have thought that by taking legal action it could end up costing them more with court costs etc. Am so anxious about this and just need a bit of guidance please.

[cfnc]

You can not pay what you do not have and as you are willing to pay what you owe, I do not think that the school will gain anything if they go to court.

It is probably a scare tactic to get you to pay more, I would write or phone them stating that you are not in a position to pay any more but will keep up the payments of £200 per month.

Good luck and hope all works out for you.

Kirsty

[Soulgrowth]

I may be wrong but if you you were in debt to the school when your IVA was going through shouldn't they have been classed as one of your creditors and included in the IVA? By paying their debt aren't you showing preferential treatment of this creditor?

Debbie

[plasticdaft]

Think you may be right Soulgrowth. The rest of the creditors wouldnt be happy knowing someone else was getting a bigger share!!!

[Moneystinks]

How rubbish....
I hope you are okay, more stress that you just don't need.
Melanie or Ian might be on later just to clarify what Debbie has said, but she knows her stuff and is usually bang on!

Good luck. XX

[cfnc]

If there is a joint debt and only one went into an IVA, the other party is also liable for the remaining debt not covered by the IVA.

Hope you get it sorted soon

Kirsty

[MelanieGiles]

As the parents of your child, you are both responsible for the school fees, and if your husband is not party to insolvency proceedings he should now be paying that - which I am sure he is in a roundabout fashion. But the debt should also have been included in your IVA as a creditor, and could be technically bound as they were a creditor who were entitled to have notice at the time your proposals were presented.

Is your daughter still attending this school?

[bev.nn]

Our daughter is leaving the school at the end of this academic term (jul 08). I must stress that the only reason she had to stay was because of the difficulties we encountered in obtaing her a place at a state school.She has been on a number of waiting lists since Jan2007!! Our parents paid all of the term fees from the time the IVA was being proposed (March - May 2008)so there weren't any outstanding debts at the time. Then the school waived the fees for Sept- Dec o7 as they were aware of our situation (IVA PLUS unable to get another school place)The 6k has been incurred from Jan 08.It couldnt have been included in the IVA proposal as there wasnt any debt outstanding at the time. Does this change the situation?

[MelanieGiles]

Yes - this is now a post-IVA debt, which cannot be included. I think that your husband will need to find some way of repaying this, perhaps by offering affordable instalments to the school. Could your parents also help out?

[bev.nn]

Unfortunately our parents have assisted us in every poss way theyv'e absolutley done all they can. My husbands income was assessed and taken into consideration at time of proposal - on top of all the other increases with petrol, food,mortgage rise etc its just impossible for us to find much spare .Have talked to my IP about it and he has suggested he writes to creditors explaining the situation and requesting that some of the 50%overtime paid to them is used to clear this. He thinks that as I'm not reducing my monthly payments in any way that they may be willing to accept this. In your experience, are creditors generally sympathetic to this sort of thing or not?

[Viki.W]

Hey bev, if your own IP is suggesting it then that's a good start. I'm sure Melanie will be along shortly to give you some advice, really hope you get this sorted, thinking of you, Viki X

[bev.nn]

Thanks Viki. I do get really anxious over the slightest thing to do with finances! I've got to say mind that I do find my IP extremley helpful and sympathetic. Im with Varden Nuttal and nothing seems to be a problem to them. They said they'd get back to me today so got the usual knots in stomach etc!

[Viki.W]

Hey Bev, it's good that you've got an approachable IP, I think that's really important. Fingers crossed for you, let us know what the outcome is, keep posting. Viki X