Just agreed proposal

[stoneyB]

My unease is the figures. I owe 98k but the IP gets 13K if I proceed at 43p in the £. I have never missed a payment in my life which he can see. I made every effort to pay my debts and IVA is a real last resort. I have been totally (too?)honest and i feel that I am being used as an easy case to prove to any auditors that the IP is on the side of the creditors. Paranoid I know. I will challenge him and put up with the "phone ringing" for a while longer.

[MelanieGiles]

That is an enormous fee - and one which is likely to be clipped severely by creditors. Only you can decide what is best to do, but do remember that you have to spend the next 5 years of your life with this firm. If they are pushing you now, do you really want to go through the same thing each year when they review your circumstances?

[stoneyB]

"Enormous fee". that is what I thought. They would earn most of it in year one as well. Would the fee be too "severely clipped" if they showed thay had negotiated a good deal for the creditors in the first place or is the paranoia becoming too strong?

[freelili]

Stoney B

I know the phone calls are hard but you must not let that fact drive you to sign or agree to an unreasonable proposal.

Its your life and you will be in this thing for 5 years, make sure you are happy with it all before proceeding. Once you have gone ahead with one IP you cannot change it. I know from being a member of this forum for more than two years that if youre not happy at this stage, things rarely get any better afterwards.

You know sometimes when you get the feelling this is going to end it tears? I think it is if you agree to this. I am sorry to be so brutally honest and I cant say I am an expert of all things IVA as I am not. I hope I am wrong and you can force your hand with your chosen IP.

Good luck now and very best wishes.

[stoneyB]

My trouble is I'm always optimistic but, Lilli, you are right this could easily end in tears. I think it started badly for when the drafter assumed I would be sacked if I went into Bankruptcy and has just gotten worse

[kallis3]

What company are you using? It obviously isn't in their best interests for you to go bankrupt as they get nothing, but they should not be making assumptions about your employment, and they should have told you all options open to you.

What line of employment are you in?

[freelili]

Hi again

Sometimes the people you speak to initially are not actually IP's but clerks who dont actually know about BR, they deal with IVA's. Dont forget that noone can draw a fee from you going BR. I am not an expert as I have said but I have seen a few come here saying similar things to what you are saying and they have already committed and are suffering the consequences. Its not the debtors fault, we come on the phone to someone and spill out all our figures, how hard is that to do? We just hang on to their every word and grateful for any kind of straw they offer us to grab at, we dont know and thats the problem, we just dont know but hope to hell that they can get us out of this blackest hole.

I do know that Melanie is very good and will be very honest, if you have any doubts just give her a ring or any other company, just to see if they agree with your figures? Then at least you will be able see if what youre being told now checks out or not. In all walks of life and every profession there are good and bad. Just like Mr, Bodjit and charge a fortune plummer or electrician, there are Mrs come and give me your money, you debtor you, IPs.

I am not slating your IP, I am simply saying check your figures out with another just to see if youre being given a fair service.

Debtors are vunerable as they often have to keep things to themselves and dont know what should happen so wouldnt spot a web. Often they are ashamed, tired, guilty and desperate not to mention harrassed to within an inch of their sanity.

You have nothing to lose by phoning a couple more, I know you want to sort this out ASAP, I did, I couldnt wait to get some relief. Its such an important decision to make and better to make a careful and secure decision later than to jump in with doubts now.

Good luck, I know this is a very hard and difficult time youre having now.

[stoneyB]

I'm in the civil service who don't approve of their people getting in as financial mess. I do have good news, I challenged the IP today and they have reviewed the I&E to a more reasonable figure. No foreign holidays but I can now buy a coffee and a newspaper from time to time which is all I ever wanted. Thanks for all your comments, helped me put it all into perspective.

[clareyfarey]

Hey StoneyB, I'm glad to hear your IP is being more reasonable. I think you were totally right to challenge them on the figure they were asking for.

Being in an IVA is not the end of the world, and shouldn't mean you have to live on value beans for 5 years! You are entitled to a standard of living, so well done for being brave enough to question it.

People in our situation can be tempted to sign anything to get out of the mess we have created and unfortunately there are people out there who will take advantage of that. BUT fortunately for us, there are also people out there like Melanie and her team who are doing what they do for the right reasons.

Please keep us posted on your journey, and let us know how you get on. This forum is one of the best things I have found in terms of support, I just wish I had found it when I was scared and vulnerable, not 3 years down the line!

Take care
xcx

[kallis3]

That's good news Stoneyb. I'm glad your IP saw sense. Good luck with your creditor meeting.

Let us know how you get on.

[stressed1]

Hi StoneyB. Listening to you is just like listening to myself. I am at exactly the same stage as you with my proposal just going through.And like yourself I did have some massive concerns with my IP-(I did post on here about it and got so much support and advice I did confront the issue) it materialised the person I was dealing with was just a clerk and I spoke to my actual IP.
I too am feeling a massive sense of shame and mainly 'where did it all go wrong'.10 yrs ago I was in my early 20's with a beautiful apartment,no debt and savings!!! At the age of 34 I am living in a room in my brothers and feel I have nothing to show for working so hard all these years and that I have lost everything I ever had. its also the loss of privacy I am finding hard to deal with-that someone will be monitoring my spending and I will no longer be able to do certain things I enjoy.
But at the end of the day something had to change and its already happening-I have not touched a credit card in 6 months and have made massive changes to my spending and can see now how I really did have my head in the sand over my finances.As and when I buy something I really think about it and I really value it.
But the main thing that keeps me going is the day when I can say my debt is gone,and every penny I earn is mine to spend how I please(large round of drinks will be 1st!!!)
keep the posts coming

[kallis3]

Good post stressed1. Just goes to show that even in the face of adversity, we can still smile and look forward to total debt freedom!

Mines and vodka and coke please!!!!!

[luluj]

StonyB I too am a Civil Servant and 18 months ago I had to admit my errors and move on with my life - we started an IVA and to be honest we pay over £1200 per month back - this will give us a 81p in the pound back to creditors, we also sold our house and moved into rented - a massive step for us, but to be honest living on a budget has been a challenge and has been rewarding !

I told my two immediate managers at work the whole situation - they then have supported me throughtout - the governement department I work in is a public facing organisation and so long as I informed them, that was the only impact it has had on my job - the only other step they have taken is to confirm to me that if my car gave up the ghost one day I could use the office car for a few days to ensure I had time to resolve the problem - although this is not a permanent option !
if you want to talk more about the impact of the IVA on my job and talk off line re the work in the Civil Service you do and the impact it may have - please ask admin to share my email address with you.

[stoneyB]

Sorry for late response(computer problems) and thanks for your offer. I have checked it out and it's bankruptcy they want to know about, so I'm keeping it to myself.
I finally have a date in the new year and am resigned to my fate. Can't be any worse that seeing those statements come in each month with balances the size of a cityboys bonus and all my salary going out to service them!

[David Mond]

It seems to me that the costs of the IP are so out of sinc with reality. The average Nominees fee should be no more than around £1,500 whilst the annual Supervisors fee should be around £600.

You should also ensure that your expenditure guidelines are as indicated by the CCCS.

It is never too late to see another IP and discuss matters.

Good luck in any event.