i have my iva but are they so tightly done so as ou cannot aford xmas or birthdays or a pint in the pub after weeks work or a holiday ever again...all bills worked out they take the rest !!
hey therapy welcome.
an iva isnt meant to give you loads of spare cash but it is supposed to let you live a realistic life and have a small amount left for some leisurely pursuits.
have you only noticed recently that things are tight-have they always been ? was your orginal income and expenditure realistic/all accounted for-have you had extra expenses crop up since you began your iva ?
sorry youre having a hard time but if you could put a little more info someone will try and help [:)]
Last edited by flumpy dog on Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Have you thought about asking your IP to reduce the payments to a more affordable level. You should have a small allowance for sports, hobbies and entertainment built into the figures.
I'm not convinced that all IPs are as understanding of our plights as you are, Melanie.
We have been treated very fairly by our IVA provider over our first year or so but you so often read the other side of things on this forum. Mind you, although we are happy with our level of payments we do not have any expenditure listed with our I&E that comes anywhere close to being classed as sports, hobbies or entertainment. Even our official "contingency" of £40 is, in reality, taken up by things such as small additional life insurances, £10 into our daughter's child trust fund etc. They have been extremely fair though with regard to additional monies earned (overtime, bonus etc) when we have been allowed to keep it all when things have got tight to repair/replace cars etc.
You should be able to live reasonably within an IVA. You won't be able to afford any luxuries, but you should have an allowance for social activities.
Speak to your IP.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Hi
IVAs are certainly not easy and something that should only be entered into if you are happy with the allowance and payments.
In Bankruptcy you will pay between 50-70% of your diposable income for three years whilst in an IVA you will pay 100% for five years
Has always seemed a little strange to me
Regards
IPs have guidelines that they are supposed to work with, and should also understand and acknowledge the individual needs of their clients. I very rarely ever experience either clients being asked to pay more into their IVAs, or clients who disagree with our assessments of their revised disposable income.
When I initially rang the call centre of my IP for advice I was told by a very sociable chap on the other end that in an IVA I would still have money to be able to go out to restaurants and go on holiday, and he made an IVA sound like financial Nirvana - I wasn't naive enough to totally believe this, but it went some way to encouraging me to take the plunge in an IVA with them (DFD) and I have found his remarks to be far from reality......... in fact if it wasn't for bonuses and overtime I would had to have gone cap in hand to my parents on occasion - as it is my Father has just paid out £480 to tax, service and MOT my car because I was a bit short and my overtime and bonuses had recently dried up and are probably no longer attainable for a while - I am, however determined to see it through - 44 months to go!
Last edited by PELDER on Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
That is why it is always a good idea to arrange to speak to the IP personally at an early stage. In this way you will get reality from the horse's mouth, and independent advice about the options available to you - warts and all!
We don't have any spare cash, and the rare nights out we have is always with someone else paying. Not too bothered by that but I do have to save for Christmas and birthdays.
My parents have twice helped us out of a hole (without realising it!) by buying us new tyres for the car last year and this year it is a new vacuum cleaner. We just told them there was nothing else we wanted for Christmas so they could do that.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
I agree an IVA should be affordable and although we're not living in luxury we can live, the key here is like Melanie says to talk to your IP initially never to sign anything until you're 100% happy. My IP is very understanding as I've had several things I've needed a payment break for and am currently a month in arrears, I'm chipping away at the arrears with a small amount of extra payment per month. I am unable to amount any contingency and do live hand to mouth but I'm living and I'm in a far better position than I was pre-IVA. I'm hoping when my arrears are clear I will pop that amount away and build up a contingency boy will I feel rich then!
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free future.
I understand that an IVA is far from a free ride however, don't you have enough DI to save? Surely, you should have enough to put away for christmas or savings, if not then who could manage?
We have 3-4 years left on our loans and that's all I hang on to. I really think we need an IVA but if it would be just as tight as now then I wonder if we should just stick it out.
The future's bright, the future's debt free. In 72 months to be exact!
If you will be debt clear in four years you do not need an IVA and you right to look forward to that. However, if you are using credit cards to survive while you repay the loans and your debts are not decreasing each month you may be insolvent and an IVA would be something to consider.
At the moment all our debts are paid for with our wages. We then only have around £40 - £70 left to do a food shop and petrol. We don't smoke or have any form of a social life so we are not spending on anything crazy!
The future's bright, the future's debt free. In 72 months to be exact!
