changes?

[carl.s]

hiya,

I`m now 18 months into my IVA and i`m paying £220 a month, which has been affordable, i have no assets.My Iva was set up when i was with my partner so all bills were half but she left me last month and now all my bills have suddenly doubled although heating and electric bills are not as high and council tax has gone down 25% due to bein the only adult in the house i rent. I find myself really struggling now, its payday tomorrow and i`m glad there is no council tax this month but i`m really worried about april as council tax starts again and my daughter will be ten, i`m still paying her mum back for her christmas presents.
If i approach cambridge Mcduffy is there any chance of them lowering my IVA payment to make things a little easyier? does this happen?
I've thought about renting the spare room out to help cover the bills but this is my daughters room when she stays at my house and that would be a very last resort

Help!!

[chris.g]

hiya carl.s and welcome.
I'm no expert but I don't think an IVA under £200 is viable so the reduction may be rejected.

[Adam Davies]

Hi
Chris is right but you do need to have a word with your IP,they may be able to reduce payments if you increase the term of your IVA.
It is clear that you need some assistance otherwise your IVA will fail.You could always declare bankruptcy if no help is given
Regards

[carl.s]

so what the difference between br and an iva?
its a bit unclear to me

[chris.g]

In an IVA, the term is usually 60mths where you will pay your creditors as much as possible back, the amount will be agreed between you, your IP and your creditors. There will be fees for the company who is handling your IVA which will come out of you monthly payments. You usually keep your house in an IVA. You will have reviews to cover any change of income, rises, bonuses etc. In an IVA your creditors have some, if not all, of the debt repaid.

Bankruptcy is where you do not have the money to pay back your creditors and any assets-house and car usually- will be sold to raise any cash to pay your creditors some, if any, of the debt owed. A bankruptcy petition is filed in your local county court where a judge will declare you bankrupt. An Official Receiver then handles your debts and the selling of any assets. They will determine if you have any disposable income, if you have £100 or more a month, you will be required to pay an IPA or an IPO, basically money to pay the OR's costs and to repay debts to your creditors. Bankruptcy usually lasts for 12mths, then you are discharged but IPA/IPO's are paid for 36 mths. Creditors often don't get much back from a bankruptcy.

[carl.s]

thanks chris.g

so how does the world view you after an IVA and BR?
is there any difference to your future credit rating or anything like that?
honestly i'd like to keep with the IVA, its my mess and i need to sort it, but this last month seeing all my bills go up i'm not sure i can carry on, when all my bills are paid(IVA, rent, council tax, water,tv, gas, electric, child maintenance) i have £250 for everything! food, clothes, public transport ETC... its my birthday next month and i wouldn't mind bein able to afford a pint!!!!

[chris.g]

Not quite sure about IVA but bankruptcy kills your credit rating for approx 6yr. I'm assuming that IVA will have an adverse effect on your credit rating but someone else should be able to answer that one better than me....
Certain banks won't allow an undischarged bankrupt to hold an account, but there are those who have specific accounts for us.

[carl.s]

thanks again chris and andy, i have a lot to think about i guess..

[Adam Davies]

Hi
Chrisa is correct,both bankruptcy and IVAs are seen in the same light by creditors with regad to credit scoring.In both cases the creditor writes the debt off in full from their balance sheet.
Regards