I am really scared and at my whits end

[whiskey]

Just joined after reading for a week or so. I am really scared and at my whits end, so I keep reading to see if it makes me feel better. It does to a certain extent but I am waiting for my IP to ring for a talk over IVA papers that I applied for. My details are as follows. I was horrified to find out that I owed 35,000 when by debt was all totalled up. I could always pay so I didn't bother to check up how much I was spending. I can't pay now, no other reason but for the fact that I maxed out all my cards, and I can't live off any credit any more. I applied for a joint IVA with my husband. We have a mortage on our property of £160,000 and a secured loan of £25,000, The mortgage is with Northern Rock, a Together mortgage with an unsecured loan of £8,000 which makes them the main debtor from amongst my other credit cards and catalogue bills. My first question: Is it pointless thinking Northern Rock are going to agree, or have they been known to let a few through. I have been reading up and they are not too popular. The second question is that I have filled in an income and expenditure form and I don't think its correct. When I returned it to the debt councellors it worked out that I had a disposable income of £400 and when I sat down again and worked through it its more like £305 disposable income. Will I get chance to talk this through with my IP? Will all my disposable income be taken up with my debt? I am also worried about the 4 year re-mortgage clause. My mortgage and secured loan leave me with no equity, I pay £1,000 per month mortgage and £300 per month secured loan. My house is worth around £190,000 at the moment.

This is my main worry, my husband will be 64 in four years time and I will be 61. I don't think we will be working for much longer after that time, although healthy at the moment. We are in so much debt at such a late time in our lives that the outlook seems impossible. Acceptance of my IVA would not solve my mortgage problem, but the other debts could be cleared within our working years. Any comments would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Cybus]

I do hope that you will find posting on here helpful. You will find a lot of what you read is useful and does sometimes assist to put your mind at rest.

If you are having concerns, you should always feel free to contact your IP's offices as they are there to assist you.

Right now, it sounds like you are in the early stages and have been advised by an IP of the various options that are available and that an IVA is the way forward for you.

Don't think you are doomed from the off because you have Northern Rock as a creditor. Northern Rock are NOT always as stubborn as you may percieve from reading various peoples experiences of them on these forums. They view each matter individually. If the Mortgage is with Northern Rock and you have an unsecured loan with them, it is only the value of the unsecured loan that is used for voting purposes at the creditors meeting.

If you think your income and expenditure details need to be adjusted, contact your IP on Monday and advise him / her of the amendments that you wish to make. They will be able to adjust your proposal accordingly and advise you of the difference that it makes to the estimated outcome.

Your second question - In short, after discounting all your necessary expenditure from your household income, gives your disposable income which is used for the benefit of your creditors. I would hope that your IP has already factored in your respective retirements in to the voluntary arrangement proposals.

I am not sure that I understand what you mean when you say My mortgage and secured loan leave me with no equity, I pay £1,000 per month mortgage and £300 per month secured loan.

If I am missing something I am sure someone will pick up on it and come back to you.



Tell it like it is.

[Adam Davies]

Hi
You have a house valued at 190k and secured borrowings of 185k,correct?
You must make sure that your disposible income,the IVA payment,is YOUR figure and not something that has been jigged by your IVA provider to make your IVA proposal more attractive.
£300 per month will return about 33p to your creditors with any equity release increasing that.
Have you thought about what you will do if your IVA is rejected ?
Regards


Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[tracy.h]

Hi Whisky could you just let us know if the debt councillors are synergie.I may be wrong but i think thats what the company who represent synergie are called.

Tracy

[scaredkez]

synergi are one of the companies that debt councillors refer you onto, debt councillors were who i used and as you all know i had a terrible time with synergi, to the OP donot agree to anything just to get the iva through as it will fail, stick to your guns and say what you know you can realistically afford, good luck
kerri

Please view my blog at: http://scaredkez.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[MelanieGiles]

Given your limited equity in your property, coupled with your ages, do you not feel that bankruptcy proceedings might be a better option for you? Who is the secured loan with?

And if you have a personal loan with Northern Rock which represents more than 25% of your aggregate debt, under their present voting attitude you only have a 10% chance of acceptance. Most insolvency practitioners are now refusing to take on work involving Northern Rock personal loans - the situatiom is more positive with Northern Rock together loan packages where in my experience the acceptance rate is higher.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[Adam Davies]

Hi Melanie
Quote " Most insolvency practitioners are now refusing to take on work involving Northern Rock personal loans "
I wonder what the Insolvency Service are going to do about this ? Hopefully they will put pressure on NR ? It,s got to be sorted out because at present you could have two people in identical situations with identical debts and disposible income.The only difference being that one has 30% of his debt with Barclays and the other 30% with NR.One is proposed and accepted[Barclays] and the other is not even proposed.
I know that two cases are never the same but you can see my point.
It can,t be right and it can,t be acceptable to the insolvency service.
Regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[MelanieGiles]

Andy

The DTI and the regulatory bodies are currently in the process of collating information from IPs about cases they have refused to take on where rejection from Northern Rock is likely. They will be making representations, so I understand, but at the end of the day this lender is an independent commercial organisation which has formed its own views of what is acceptable and what is not, and The Insolvency Service may have little influence in getting that decision changed.

The best thing that the Insolvency Service can do for all of us at the moment is to introduce the 50% majority voting criteria as soon as possible to stop one large creditor having the overall decision, and to bring IVA's into line with other forms of insolvency.

I have seen good IVA cases proposed by my firm and other IP's fail, at the expense of the other creditors - as without exception all parties have now petitioned for bankruptcy.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[whiskey]

Thank you all for your replys. Yes I am about to talk with Synergy. I will positively make sure that my income and expenditure are correct. They will see from my bank statements that I have underestimated in my first attempt. My mortgage has a secured loan with First Plus, and you are correct Davy I owe around £185,00 on a £90,000 value home, plus other help with costs fees and early settlement figure amounting to a further £4,000. I have no assets either, absolutely nothing to offer a bankruptcy only our salary and what proportion they would take from that.

If my other option was to be bankrupt, would the first charge be added to my mortgage debt and would I basically be able too keep my home. I can't really envisage a payment plan with my creditors working for us, it would take longer than our working lives. We are prepared to work up until the moment we can't any more but we have to have a good go at paying as much of this as we can before it's too late.

Thank you for your very helpful comments.

[Skippy]

Whiskey, I would say don't even talk to Synergy - there have been too many people on this forum who have gone into IVAs with them and they have failed. If you don't mind me asking have you paid any money to Synergy? They have a record of taking payments before the IVA is approved, taking months to arrange a creditors' meeting, and if for any reason the IVA is either not accepted or fails later on you have lost the money. Please read Scaredkez and Coco's blogs - they were both with Synergy.

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/

[tracy.h]

I agree with Skippy,i would at least read these blogs before you make your mind up.
At the end of the day it has to be your choice.

[whiskey]

SKippy, No I haven't paid anything to Synergie, however I haven't yet spoken to them, I still have paperwork to send them. If I don't like what they are saying can I just pull out from using them, or can I just try and stick to my guns? What happens regarding my creditors when the time is going on and on and I haven't signed anything will they be sending me to court? As per the instructions on my application form I haven't paid them this month. I knew it was the right thing to post on here, I have learned so much already I would definitely have gone with everything first off and not thought it through properly, I am now thinking more. Just off to read the blogs.

[Skippy]

I'm glad you haven't paid anything to Synergie. Personally if you do talk to them and don't like what they are saying I would pull out from using them, but that's easy for me to say! I didn't use Synergie myself, so I only know of them through Scaredkez and Coco. If I were you I would contact a couple of other IVA providers to see what they have to say as well - you would be better staying away from the IVA 'factories' and trying to go with a smaller firm where you will get better service. Have a look at www.iva.com for reviews of IVA companies.

While you are waiting for your creditors' meeting you will get phone calls and letters I'm afraid. Be polite but firm and remember that the person that you are speaking to on the phone is in a call centre and won't be voting on your IVA! It takes a long time for court action, so don't worry too much about that.

Good luck, and if you have any questions please post and there will be someone who can help you.

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/

[MelanieGiles]

Hi Whiskey

If you do decide to consult another Insolvency Practioner, make sure that they know about your concerns and ask them if they can fast-track your application as you are worried about the actions of creditors given the length of time matters have taken so far, and make sure that you get all of your papers returned by your existing provider to speed matters up.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk