Facing up to our situation

[stoney]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and have been reading it for a month or so after finding it by chance. What a great mine of information it is and with lots of helpful tips. Me n hubbie are in deep debt and want to sort it out after a long time of borrowing off peter to pay paul. Things were fairly ok until 2 1/2 years ago when he was made redundant from his very good job. He invested some of his redundancy cash into training to be a driving instructor, this he was successful at and we hoped to be looking at a prosperous future. How wrong we were, after the weekly fees some weeks he was only earning £55 - £60. Promises were made that his books would be filled but it never happened. He left that to work elsewhere but by this time we hade been supporting our outgoings with credit cards. He never earned enough and the downward spiral started to get out of control. I work part time and have a small business too and work as hard as I can to try and make it work. Hubbie got a really good job in June with a major motoring breakdown organisation and is earning a decent wage again. Overtime is plentyful and he does 12hr shifts to bring in a good amount each month, tiring as it is. Now he is in a good job and we have a reasonable amount coming in each month we really want to tackle our debts once and for all. We have about £150k at the last count of horrendous debt and the sad thing is that if we hadnt had the bad luck with redundancy we wouldnt be in this mess quite as bad. Credit cards have helped us but in the end are killing us and we want to pay back as much as possible and feel that an IVA would be the best way forward. Both of us wake up at night worrying about it all. Found this forum and glad to find that we arent the only ones in this situation. Melanie seems to be a figure to admire and we think we will approach her company for help and to get things rolling. We've sorted out a new Bank account to have our wages paid into. Such a relief to put things down on "paper" and take our heads out of the sand. Thanks for reading

[olympic_torch]

Stick with it Stoney.
You have taken the first step by admitting you have a problem.

PS
I have never seen Melanie's figure, but i am sure it's admirable.[;)]

Aucto Splendore Resurgo.
(6 down, 54 to go)

[MelanieGiles]

Hi stoney and welcome to the forum

I am so sorry to hear your story. I am afraid that I have a number of driving instructors on my books at the moment, all who have had similar tales of false promises of profits in excess of £30k per annum, only to be bitterly disappointed.

The problem with driving instructors linked to franchised businesses, is that the franshisor takes a large cut of the income, and hourly rates are continually driven down by local competition. There are also a high degree of no shows, which represent pupils who don't turn up at all or cancel at the last minute, thus directly affecting income flow, at a time when it is too late to fill the booking. It is not the great profession that the glossy ads can lead you into believing.

You have taken the first steps to sorting things out by acknowledging the problems and facing up to them. I am sure that there is a solution out there for you both, and if we can help in any way then I would be delighted.

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

[Andrew Graveson]

Hi stoney,
We've also heard from a number of people for whom working as a driving instructor did not fulfil the promises made. As you've already judged you'll be in safe hands with Melanie.

Andrew Graveson
Independent Mortgage Broker & Bright Oak Debt Management
andrew@brightoak.co.uk
www.brightoak.co.uk

[jpj]

Hi Stoney
Welcome to the forum.
The next few months will probably be tough, but then hopefully your IVA will fall into place and things will start to improve. I think people have "bad patches" in their lives, I had a 2 year one that ended a year ago. Since then my life has improved,Im more determined,and the tough times have made me a stronger person,and in a way I dont regret the bad times as much now.
My debt was over a 100K ,so I know how scary those figures can look!!
Melanie is a great asset to this site and Im sure she will do her utmost for you regarding your IVA.

Good luck

regards

JPJ

[bagpuss]

Hi and welcome to the site...xx

Angie xx


My IVA Story......http://bagpuss.blogs.iva.co.uk/2007/09/ ... iva-story/

[stoney]

Thank you all for your kind comments, there is a lot of committment from the experts on this site who seem to put a lot of hours in, esp at this time of night! We just want to get out lives back on track and the driving instructor experience has taught us a lot. Yes the adverts are glossy and promise the earth, unfortunately for us the earth opened up and turned into a big black hole! We dont have an expensive lifestyle nor do we run expensive cars, have had no holidays for 2 yrs and in general do not want a lot from life. We do want to repay as much as we can to our creditors and put an end to the bills which land each month. The IVA route along with its conditions such as the 50% taken for overtime etc is no worse that the high percentage of money taken each month in interest payments! Melanie, we are pretty sure we will be approaching your company, we feel like we know you a little already and quite a few of the other members of this forum. If we can get an IVA sorted out neither myself or hubbie ever want to see a credit card again.

[Lisa2009]

Welcome to the forum stoney. Best of luck with Melanie and her team, im sure you will be in very safe hands.

mrs skint

[mikebdomain]

Hi stoney and again, welcome to the forum.

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LEYBRIDGE LIMITED
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Specialising in adverse credit.

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Check out my blog at:
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[mike.s]

Hi stoney,
Welcome to the forum, which has been an absolute lifeline for me. Your post so much reflects my own problems so I know exactly where you are coming from and how you feel. It's hard but you have taken a huge step, might not feel like it at the moment, but it is a huge step in the right direction. Taking the head out of the sand is such a difficult thing to do. You will get some fantastic help, advice and support on this forum, I have my meeting with Melanie on Friday. We have sold our house in the hope of offering our creditors a F/F, just hope it's enough. My wife is training to be a driving instructor, passed part 1&2, failed part 3 a couple of weeks ago, one more attempt and then has to start all over again. Much harder than led to beleive, and the money even if she does pass is nowhere near what they said it would be after talking to other people in the business. Wish we had walked away from that interview saying no, instead of handing over thousands of pounds. Even if she does pass the company has now said they don't have any places left in this area and would not be able to offer her a job anyway, a far cry from all the promises in the first place. We knew once we had handed the money over that a big mistake had been made going with this particular company, but it was impossible to get the money back. The promises they make are, in our opinion and from our experience, nothing more than a pack of lies. A year ago with the businesses I had started and my wifes new career we had what seemed a great future in front of us and the debt we had seemed very possible to sort, very different to the reality I'm facing now. But with the help of everyone on this forum I feel back on my feet and ready to face the future with a positive outlook, after all a mistake is only a mistake if you don't learn from it and move on a more stronger person. As I say you will get some great help and advice on this forum and support whenever you need it. Give Melanie a call, her team made me feel relaxed and a human again. You are not alone and you don't need to be, there will be a solution for you and help is at hand, don't put it off make the call. Let us know how you get on and the very best of luck!
Best wishes
Mike

[stoney]

Hi Mike

Thanks for your msg, the driving school road is not an easy one as you say and your right, its not easy to pass all the parts of the exams/training. Hubbie also failed part 3 the first time but did pass at the second attempt. Good luck to your wife. The trouble with the job is as you and Melanie say, the no shows and cancellations, non-payers etc. I was so glad when he got another "proper" job. A positive from it was that he passed on about 3/4 clients to a neighbour who told us that if that hadnt happened he would have really struggled as his bookings were low too. Lots of instructors around! We have organised for our salaries to go to the new Bank account, Co-op Bank, from Nov pay and will start the ball rolling in the next couple of weeks. Am really nervous about talking to someone on the phone, the list of creditors will go on and on. Its making me feel so ashamed and stupid for the situation. The worst part is that I worked for a Bank for 25yrs and I really think that as a result money becomes not real, just numbers and paper and because of the sales environment it has become of late, you dont respect money. We had targets to sell Loans and credit cards and you dont realise what you are doing to other people on the other side of the glass! We have to get it sorted as dont want to be above 50 yrs old and still in a mess. Do we pay credit cards and Loans this month or cancel all ddrs? The general opinion on the forum is to cancel all once the IVA process is underway. So much to think about and i feel so weary. It hasnt really started yet though, the phone will be red hot and the letter box buzzing I expect. I have a friend who is is a similar situation and her and her hubbie have very good jobs earning above £60k and no family. They have had to leave their house and move into rented accommod. At least we are not on our own and thank you all for your support x

[Sadsack]

Hi Stoney

Regarding stopping DD's etc, perhaps it would be a good idea to get the advice from your IP. Reading between the lines, I gather you are with Melanie. If this is correct, I can assure you that she will advise you as to when and how things should be done.

Sue

Ho Hum! Think I'll bang my drum!

Read My Blog
http://sadsack.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[ray_a]

Hi Stoney

I know you are doing the right thing and with Melanie around you should be OK!

One concern is that if you are doing an IVA you will need to ensure that your income flow is secure so please bear that in mind when you are setting this up!

Good Luck

[R1chard]

ive seen the adverts regarding "becoming a driving instructor" and must admit i was curoius... good job i never followed it thru!

57 PAYMENTS TO GO..

[Skippy]

Dave was going to do it when he was made redundant a few years ago - after reading this I'm glad he didn't. He is a handyman, and although money can be tight at times I think it would have been worse if he'd become a driving instructor.

Good luck Stoney, I hope that your IVA is successful. I'm sure it will be as you're in good hands with Melanie.

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/