Joint IVA?

[deadarm]

Hi there, Both my wife and I owe money, mainly to LloydsTSB - who our account is with. We live on my wages but lloyds gave her a credit card based on the joint account. Could we enter into a joint IVA? Any ideas on what we would have to do? Any input would be really appreciated, Cheers, Dave[:)]

[Oliver]

There is really no such thing as a joint IVA as your Voluntary Arrangements would be individual. However, you could enter into an interlocking IVA which would mean that your income and expenditure was calculated jointly.

This certainly could be a possibility. Could you post some more info on your debt so we could advise you further,

Total debts for both of you?
Which creditors are owed money?
Income details?
Residential status (renting or homeowner)?
If homeowner, level of equity in the proprty?
Rough idea of what disposable income figure would be (total income less all secured loans and living costs (not unsecured payments))?

[deadarm]

Hi, right, here goes:
overdraft £4000 lloydstsb
loan £17000 lloydstsb
her ccard £6500 lloydstsb
my ccard £6000 mbna
total = £33500

We are in a council house, no rent arrears, and I get £1400 per month. She gets £121 child benefit which pays the council tax. I'm not sure what/how much we would be allowed to spend on ourselves (shopping budget/phone/bband etc) so if you could tell me what we are entitled to keep that would be great. Also how much does it cost to get this all set-up and running. thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Dave [8D]

[Oliver]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the info. With only 2 creditors it could be harder to secure an IVA as these creditors may very well force you into an informal plan.

An IVA isn't the only way to deal with debt difficulty so exploring the other options such as an informal plan or bankruptcy would certainly be worthwhile.

I am in no way saying an IVA is an impossibility for you, but an alternative option may be more suitable.

I would reccomend that you contact 2-3 companies (the ones on this site are all legitimate) and talk through your personal circumstances further and attempt to come up with a rough idea of your disposable income.

With regards to your question about the cost of an IVA. The costs are paid for out of your monthly contribution to your creditors i.e. your creditors foot the bill with the money you pay them!

[deadarm]

Would you say you need a min of 3 creditors for a iva??

[MelanieGiles]

No - the rules are two creditors with three or more lines of credit - so on that footing you qualify. Unfortunately, Lloyds TSB have a policy of rejecting IVAs where they are owed more than 75% of the aggregate debt, so on that point you do not qualify. Have you thought about a DMP as an alternative - or even bankruptcy proceedings if you have no assets which would be affected by such proceedings.