I entered into an IVA last year with a company because I was being hassled by creditors and couldn't handle the pressure anymore.
I have 19384 in debts but no house or assets and no children or anything. I am now being told by other companies that this was the wrong solution as I have no assets or secure debts.
I do not wish to go bankrupt as this may have an effect on employment in the future and I was told an IVA would have a better effect on my rating once done so that I could get a mortgage etc in the future.
Also do you have any suggestions as to a mobile phone, I currently rent so have no landline and my phone (previously contract) was written into the iva and I now use it as pay as you go but it has died. I cannot afford to buy an expensive phone as all my money is spent on food and living costs but i assume I could not get a contract either which would be cheaper for me?
Hi ---- if you do not want to go BR -- which is what these other companies will want you to do ( for a fat fee)then the IVA might not have been the wrong solution -- they do not know the facts and, like me, can only guess.
BR is generally faster, but will leave the same, if not worse, stain on your record.
As to phones -- a few posters have managed to get contracts with T-Mobile, whilst in IVA's -- worth giving them a try online.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Hi, I've not had problems getting a contract mobile phone with Vodafone. Although mind you I did have one with them in place however this was never written into our IVA. I thought that was odd that yours had been. Was your account in arrears with your provider at the time?
I applied for two mobile phone contracts last year (Talkmobile & TalkTalk) expecting not to get either (one was for my wife the other was for my daughter) and we got both!
Talkmobile had very good tariffs. 7.50 a month for a smartphone.
EDIT: Just spotted my counter, I'm officaly over the half way point!
Last edited by Imhotep on Tue Jul 30, 2013 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hi and welcome to the forum. Have you received a letter advising that an IVA may not be the best option for you? If so they will have trawled the insolvency register and be trying to offer you assistance as a cost to help you declare bankruptcy. Whilst an excellent debt rememdy in its own right it's not for everyone and if you're happy with your IVA stick with it is what I would suggest.
I managed to secure a T-mobile contract whilst in an IVA for my daughter too so might be worth giving them a go.
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free future.
I am sure whoever advised you in the beginning went through all the options available and based on what you heard and your own preferences you chose an IVA, which is what many people do, even though on paper it may look like an IVA is a viable option. Ultimately it is your choice. Many many people go into IVAs with no assets and a low level of debt.
With regards to a mobile, when you say it was built in, do you mean the cost was built into your budget or a balance on your contract was built in as a debt? Either way, some good suggestions above for companies to approach.
Let us know how you get on and glad you found us, this forum is one of the best places to come for sound, unbiased advice and has a huge amount of support for everyone joining.
Regards, Tina Shortland, Debt Advisory Manager for Melanie Giles at Debt Advice TV.
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Hi, I have recently managed to get a contract with Orange for my new mobile phone contract (was refused by Tesco). Ignore any texts/letters/emails you get from any debt companies as they are purely marketing rubbish - we went into our IVA's in January this year and both received letters last week advising us that the IVA might not have been the best option and there was another alternative available! As Lesley says, they probably got our names by going through the Insolvency Register and how can they possibly know that the IVA is wrong for us? If you are finding things a bit difficult, maybe you should go through your income and expenditure very carefully and speak to your IP if you feel any changes are needed. We are just about to make the 8th payment to our IVA's and although are certainly not living in the lap of luxury, we don't live hand to mouth and are able to make some small savings from our allowances to put towards treats for us and the kids. For us, the IVA's are the best thing we did to deal with our debts and we definitely have a better life in them than we did before with all the pressure of robbing Peter to pay Paul just to pay the creditors - and it sounds like this is why you felt the IVA was right for you at the time. Stay strong, keep up the budgeting and speak to your IP if you have any concerns. Good luck.
