An IVA is just not going to be a viable option for your creditors, I am afraid. Is there any way that you can either increase your income or reduce any expenditure to try and improve your disposable income position?
We have a car loan which is currently £166 a month but it has about another 30 months to run - the car is only worth about £6k and I need it for work, I travel 30 miles each way to work. We have drastically reduced our expenditure to free up the disposable income we have, the only other option is to try and secure a job with a higher salary, but this is proving difficult and could be out of reach for my skill set depneding on how much more we would need to find. When we first hit financial difficulty we sold the only asset we had which was our house and used the small amount of equity to pay of some creditors and out the dpeosit down on our rental property.
The other thing I dont understand about the crediotrs not accepting what we can offer is that if we go bankrupt they would get nothing - surely something is better than nothing at all? By the way Melanie thank you for replying so late on a Sunday night - there can't be many people willing to do what you do on your own time for us all.
Is the car loan a loan or a HP agreement. It is worth checking, because if it is a loan it could be included into an IVA which might then be possible with a very low dividend. If not, you could always do a DMP for three years until the HP is paid off and then look at an IVA.
I have no problem with helping anyone on a Sunday evening - it is a welcome break from the IVA proposals I am currently proof reading!!
I see some potential for an IVA here - with big reservations. With one or 2 exceptions the creditors are becoming more and more amenable to accepting dividends that a few months ago would have been virtually unthinkable - I think our record so far is 15p in the £. Assuming acceptance by Natwest a bog standard IVA of 60 contributions of £170 would produce about 8.5p in the £, which is pushing things a lot. If the car will last you for the duration of the IVA and the HP payments come into the IVA from month 31 then it looks a bit more promising. More so if you were prepared to commit to a 6 year IVA, where you get up to a rather more respectable 16p. However, because the basic contribution you can make is very low, your IVA would be rather vulnerable to price rises in gas, electricity etc. If you could get it accepted, it's obviously better than a 44 year DMP but does have the potential to be a difficult option, and a high price to pay to achieve your objective of privacy.
If you are determined to attempt an IVA much will depend upon the circumstances you are currently in and just as importantly how your debt arose - how the Natwest debt actually arose may be pivotal to their acceptance of any solution you propose.
You will lose nothing by taking advice from an IP on a one to one basis on your specific circumstances, firstly to ascertain whether your income and expenditure is realistic and secondly to approach NatWest (or more particularly their voting agent) to see what their view is. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Once you have the Natwest response, then the viable solution ought to become apparent straight away.
Hope this helps
Ian
Last edited by ianmillington on Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ian Millington
Insolvency Director
PDHL Ltd (formerly Personal Debt Helpline Ltd) www.pdhl.co.uk
You need to end the DMP saga....if you are now 10K worse off because of Natwest...I have dealt with them. I had to check prior to my IVA they were taking interest out and they did after 30 days of the CCCS plan they recieved.I simply would not assume they have.
Have a go with an IVA and if it fails then BRs.You have nothing to lose. 17p in the pound is I think an exception in an IVA. You need to know your IVA 'did or did not work' and not that someone might think it wouldn't work.....the market and even the debt industy is driven by {events} and not computations.There is a 'black box' of IVA decision making.And yes you chances may be slim but roll the dice.....the market of making and losing money is a gamble
As for BR,it will wipe your 84K slate clean.There is no stigma with BR anymore, just look those BANKS!!
"DEbt is all in the mind. Think wealth and you'll be wealthy but not in £££"
I agree the DMP idea must be a non-starter. The choice is therefore between an IVA and Bankruptcy - there is no 3rd option.
On the question of stigma,I agree there should not be any nowadays. However, it is all in the mind either of the person involved or of others. So, depending upon his or her outlook, the bankrupt either won't give a monkeys or will continue to view it as a badge of shame, or somewhere in between. The acceleration of discharge to 1 year, whilst the intention was to de-stigmatise it, has in some peoples eyes merely served to portray bankruptcy as the easy way out, which is, quite frankly in the main not the case.
The choice is yours, charliesbird. Taking solely your financial interests into account, from what you say bankruptcy looks like the best option for you. However, I fully understand that there are influencing factors of a non-financial nature and it is for you to decide which should prevail. One thing is certain, if you take either the IVA or bankruptcy route the question of the interest charged by Natwest becomes academic, given that however much you owe your creditors, the amount you pay will be finite.
Ian Millington
Insolvency Director
PDHL Ltd (formerly Personal Debt Helpline Ltd) www.pdhl.co.uk
I hope youre feeling a little bit better now Charliesbird.
I know its all been a distressing time for you both. I couldnt even entertain the idea of BR either as I thought my family would disown me but far from it, they were very understanding and wanted to help. I cant say that its the best option for you in your circumstances, even if it would be the best one for how the numbers stack up. I just wanted to say, please dont cry for another 44 years, life is too short for that. You need to find a solution that will give you peace of mind, even if it does send the world spining for a little while. Debt doesnt have to mean people pointing the finger and judging you, it can mean the start of a new, free life.
Its all up to you at the end of the day. I hope you can think about things beyond the initial reactions.
