Just starting, so scared

[ketton79]

Hi guys,
just found this site, great site , loads of useful info but im still scared of what the future holds and feel such a complete failure! Let down my wife and kids so bad but i am trying.

Basically we have quite a bit of debt stemming from being massively let down by a family memeber, a forced house move and my own stupid fault with credit cards. The last few months ive just about been covering the minumum payments on everything but then having to live on the cards to get through the months so just stuck in a vicous circle.

I've been speaking to payplan who seem quite helpful, they said I basically had 3 options:-

1- bankruptcy ( really dont want to do this, I want to pay my debt)
2- a DMP, they worked my affordbility out and at this rate they said it would take 15 years to pay off as they couldnt guarentee interest being frozen etc
3- IVA, well actually 2, 1 for me and 1 for my wife but it gets paid in 1 lump sum to payplan each month is the way i understood it. This will obviously be over 5 years.

We've opted for the IVA and are waiting for them to call me in the next couple of days,but I'm just so stressed about the whole thing. I'm worried about it being turned down and what i do then. Im worried about how long it takes to set up (6 weeks they said) ive made reduced payments to all this month so just waiting for the phone calls to start. Im worried about gettign through this month ( taken to reburbing old furniture and selling just to make a couple of quid to get petrol and food. worried about getting another bank account, TSB and Barclays are our accounts and also 2 of the creditors. Was going to try first direct but seems theyre not IVA friendly, now looking at co-op, put in online app last niight, waiting to here.

I didnt have a great deal growing up and always swore i would give my kids a better upbringing but it seems i can even manage that.

sorry for the rant and ill apologise now for all the daft questions im bound to be asking over the next few weeks!
peace out

[Foggy]

Hi Ketton. You are not a complete failure -- just the money got away from you --- look at the banks (the experts!) they caught a cold too a few years back. However, they, unlike you, got a bail out from us, the taxpayer. The whole country isn't far off needing an IVA !!! So --- it's not you. In any event, at least you are sorting it out.

I would suggest you have a chat to a couple more firms to see how they operate and how you get on (5 years is a long, financially intimate, time to be with a company you don't want to be with!). There is a list of reputable companies over at www.iva.com.

[lem]

Welcome ketton, all what you're feeling is natural, we have all been there and know exactly what you are going through, but on with the practicalities, if you can, try and get a normal bank account with an unrelated creditor rather than the coop one, you should be able to if your credit rating isn't damaged yet, we went wi Lloyds and have a full account with a cheque book but no overdraft and this works so much better for us than the coop one. Don't go with first direct or HSBC as they will both close your accounts once you are in an iva.

Stop making payments, if you cannot afford to get through the month with your salaries even when paying reduced payments then just stop, this is hard when you are used to always meeting your payments, we were the same, but in the end we had 6 months of no payments before our iva was approved and no acts was taken despite the threats so 6 weeks is really nothing. Yes you will get phone calls and letters but you harden up to it and realise that they can't do anything. Use the money instead to save for a contingency, you will need this in the first year of your iva as you get used to budgeting and having no credit anymore to fall back on. It won't make the slightest bit of difference to the outcome of your iva if you make any payments or not, so the money now is better in your pocket that's your creditors.

You will find once you are in an iva that you will be giving your kids a better upbringing, you are going to teach them that we all have to live within our means, that there isn't an endless pot of money and that we have to budget to afford the things we want, sometimes we have to go without things that aren't necessary, they will learn the value of money, I worried about this too but it has done my kids the world of good and they are so appreciative of what they have now and are careful when spending, it's a good thing.

Stay positive!, if pay plan have reviewed your income and expenditure and have said an iva is doable, then trust them its rare for an iva to be refused outright anymore

[ketton79]

thanks guys, just really struggling to get my head round not making payments but hopefully payplan will get it sorted. Using them as they were recommended by my union at work.

Cant open an account with Barclays or Lloyds as they are 2 of the people we already owe money to. Is there something wrong with co-op? Ive applied for a standard account with no o/d online as opposed to the real basic account. hopefully my credit history is still ok at mo so hopefully should get account.

thanks for the support tho guys its appreciated

[lem]

No nothing wrong with coop, I just don't like their basic account, I find it too slow for everything, but I know others recommend them, not sure if they will allow you to keep your normal account with them when you are in an iva or if they will downgrade the account, maybe others will be able to advise better on that one.

Yes stopping payments is psychologically hard, we had never missed any payments on our debts at all before we went for our iva and it was very scary and worrying doing it, but I'm so glad we did now looking back as we managed to save a good contingency, got the cars serviced and a few jobs done around the house before we started the iva.

[Michael Peoples]

You seem to be doing everything right although I agree with the others that it is pointless making token payments. You should try and save that money to have a small mcontingency for when the IVA is approved. If you feel the payments are any way tight it may be worth getting a second opinion from an independent firm and see if the income and expenditure account tallies with that of Payplan.

[York1331]

Hi Ketton,

Opening an IVA will be the best thing you and your wife ever did. I started an IVA 2.5 years ago, through Melanie Giles (she's a fantastic IP Practitioner and have had a wonderful 2.5 years with them so far. Can highly recommend. They always answer queries straight away). So I am half way through.

Before my IVA completed, I opened a bank account with someone who was not a creditor, which is standard. I chose the Co-Op. They never closed my account down after the IVA and I still use it. Natwest is also another bank who accept people with IVAs. Or Co-Op, you will have to take out their basic account, called 'Cashminder'. No overdraft, no cheque book but you do get a visa debit card and it accepts direct debits. It's also a free account, which is rare to find these days.

It's really weird when you just stop making payments. You begin to feel like you are stealing the money and that at any point, they will knock on your door for it back! But it's not the case. When an IVA is in the process of being set up, they usually sort something out with the creditors...a grace period while they finalise things.

Being in an IVA is like having a MASSIVE weight lifted off you. It's great because you only ever buy things you can afford to pay for outright...I never used to be like that before. It teaches you to budget and to have more restraint when buying things.

Being half way through my IVA, I am so excited because it feels like the end is in sight.

I work with banks day in, day out in my line of work. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them because I don't think they helped the nation from getting into debt. As someone else on the forum said, look at the mess they have got the nation in. Saying that, we all share responsibility and I was just a bit foot loose and fancy free with money in the past, so no-one to blame but myself. The fact that as taxpayers we are bailing the banks out makes me feel a lot better about paying them back only what I can.

[brokebryn]

Hi Ketton,

I agree with all the advice that you have been given in this stream, There are some fabulous people on this site who have a wealth of experience and who give very solid, informed advice. When I started my IVA I got a new basic bank account with Nationwide. No cheque book, and obviously no overdraft, but a debit card - which is all that I have ever needed. Good luck with your application. I am with Payplan and they have been great to deal with. As has been suggested above, it is really very very rare for an IVA application to be rejected outright in this economic climate, so hang on in there.

[slushysnow]

Uhmm dont worry about it now or feel scared whatever You have made a positive step to do something and thats the hardest or easiest part
You are in a mess and now you are going to sort it out Put the past where it belongs in the past
I would not pay anymore to any bills credit cards etc I did try but you just throw your money away Once you start the ball rolling then let that ball roll over them ok
Keep the money stashed away and do not touch it
Open a new bank account for your IVA payments now and keep it fresh and clear of your regular bank accounts until your IVA Compamy tell you what to do
Phone calls who cares When you get a call just say ok I am now in the process of an IVA and I want you to take my number off your database under the Data Protection Act of 1986 terms of phone use ::) if you call me again I will be taking legal action against you etc Once you tell them they should do it As long as they have your address thats all they need
Mobile get a new number and update your family etc

Its a tough few weeks to get it sorted then a tough 5 years but take it as an interest free 5 year bank loan and keep your head down
Once your IVA company take you on then basically its a done deal as they dont waste time if they cant get a result I was told even if I didnt there were other options so focus on that and take it day by day cross the bridges when you get to them and dont stress yourself out its only money at the end of the day

Then you can look forward to completing and waiting for months on end for your CC

good luck

[inextinguishable]

I was exactly the same, worried about the length of time before I would be "safe" when the IVA was agreed. Maxed out on loans and also had an overdraft. I opened a new bank account (with HSBC actually) and had my salary paid into that. When I started talking to people about an IVA at least I had a plan I could follow.

So I told my employer to start paying my salary into the new account (I left the mortgage taking money out of the old account for the first month so it gave me a head-start, there was enough overdraft limit to pay one month's mortgage, and I then changed the mortgage to my new account after that. Old bank account was included in the IVA along with all the loans etc.

I stopped making payments, the card people did phone and tell me if I paid a certain amount they wouldn't call again for 2 weeks, that sort of thing. But be firm, you can't afford to pay what they want you to. If you pay a nominal amount it should be divided between all your creditors is what I understood, but perhaps there's no point in making payments at this stage I don't know.

I changed my contact phone number with most of my credit cards so they phoned a PAYG mobile I had, instead of my landline (I knew my other half would get stressed so trying to avoid her being hassled - this was just before I told her about the vast debt...took it quite well considering!)

Anyway the IVA was agreed. Capital One voted against, so I only got 78% voting in favour but that was enough! Payments were increased because Barclays demanded it. But that was all agreed over 5.5 years ago, and I've now got my completion certificate - and I still have that HSBC account as my main account.

font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:<hr height="1" noshade>Originally posted by ketton79

Hi guys,
just found this site, great site , loads of useful info but im still scared of what the future holds and feel such a complete failure! Let down my wife and kids so bad but i am trying.

Basically we have quite a bit of debt stemming from being massively let down by a family memeber, a forced house move and my own stupid fault with credit cards. The last few months ive just about been covering the minumum payments on everything but then having to live on the cards to get through the months so just stuck in a vicous circle.

I've been speaking to payplan who seem quite helpful, they said I basically had 3 options:-

1- bankruptcy ( really dont want to do this, I want to pay my debt)
2- a DMP, they worked my affordbility out and at this rate they said it would take 15 years to pay off as they couldnt guarentee interest being frozen etc
3- IVA, well actually 2, 1 for me and 1 for my wife but it gets paid in 1 lump sum to payplan each month is the way i understood it. This will obviously be over 5 years.

We've opted for the IVA and are waiting for them to call me in the next couple of days,but I'm just so stressed about the whole thing. I'm worried about it being turned down and what i do then. Im worried about how long it takes to set up (6 weeks they said) ive made reduced payments to all this month so just waiting for the phone calls to start. Im worried about gettign through this month ( taken to reburbing old furniture and selling just to make a couple of quid to get petrol and food. worried about getting another bank account, TSB and Barclays are our accounts and also 2 of the creditors. Was going to try first direct but seems theyre not IVA friendly, now looking at co-op, put in online app last niight, waiting to here.

I didnt have a great deal growing up and always swore i would give my kids a better upbringing but it seems i can even manage that.

sorry for the rant and ill apologise now for all the daft questions im bound to be asking over the next few weeks!
peace out

[MelanieGiles]

Well done to you for taking the plunge and making the first steps to getting those debts under control. I am sure you will find the forum of great support to you over the forthcoming weeks as your IVA proposals are being prepared. Very best of luck with all of it, and do keep us informed of how you get on.

[ketton79]

just to make things really interesting the wifes car failed the MOT yesterday lol. Nothing too major but another few quid we could have done without spending.
I forgot to mention in my first post as well that my wife runs her own small business which has spent the first few years building stock and the business. After growing each year, this year we predicted would be our first real good year and in "profit" i.e. money to us. So stupidly we we spent a bit on credit fully expecting to pay it off. I tell you what, I've so learned my lesson now not to rely on certain peoples promises or spend money on credit thinking I have some money coming. I'm not spending anything till its physically in my hand and all the priority bill are paid already !

[lem]

This is precisely why you need to stop paying creditors so you have the money for use for unexpected bills like an mot failure

[Slekclarke]

Hi we have all been there spent on credit thinking we will be able to pay it back. Don't beat yourself up about it. Your on the road to a debt free life. I am at the beginning too my meeting is on 14th June and its took about 10 weeks to get there. But apart from a few phone calls the creditors have been really understanding. I have my fingers and toes crossed now. Good luck on your journey it will all be worth it.

[Kelly O]

Welcome to the forum Ketton79 and we wish you all the best with your IVA

You will find the forum an invaluable source of information and support during the coming months.