Hi all.
My husband and I are just about to enter into an IVA (hopefully) and I am very daunted by the whole prospect of it, although not as daunted as not being able to pay back what we owe!
We have signed the proposal and are waiting for the creditors meeting (26th Oct). What is the likelihood of it not being accepted? And why would it not be accepted? What do we do if it is turned down? We have a mortgage on our property but no equity and 2 babies, so want to avoid having to sell.
We are in this position because we had a (planned) baby but then I fell pregnant again straight away and we had not prepared for it. Now can only afford to work part time due to childcare costs although doing extra shifts when husband can look after kids but he works long hours and not home much. Hence, total income is drastically less and we can no longer afford to meet our previously manageable financial commitments.
We are going through Freeman Jones (although started with a different company, who took a payment from us and passed our details on- lesson learnt!). Has anyone had any dealings with Freeman Jones? They have been brilliant so far and (surprisingly) not judgemental. Are they likely to continue this through the whole process or is it just to get our business??
Any advice/reassurance would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping and praying that we have chosen the right option to sort ourselves out!!
Thanks.
Hi Jo-Jo
Firstly I am really pleased you have signed your proposal and that you have a meeting convened. The outcome of the meeting will depend upon whether this is the best deal for the creditors and a viable alternative to bankruptcy.
If there is a problem at the meeting your IP may adjourn it for you to allow for further negotiations with the creditors. So although this extends the tension slightly you can have a second bite of the cherry.
Your IP owes a duty of care to you and will try and present the best case to your creditors. If you are very nervous, speak to your case manager and ask how the proxies are looking in favour of the IVA.
Any responsible IP would not put foward a proposal if they didn't think it was viable and if you are happy with payments then you just need to sit back and let the process move on to that date.
The next 2 weeks will be a nail biting stressfull time till that meeting but be positive, been there, done that.
Feel free to vent all frustations/worries on the forum to let of steam!
Last Payment - November 2011 - Completion Certificate received 2 weeks after last payment, Removed from Insolvency Register within 4 weeks after last payment.
Welcome...it is only natural to be scared ...entering into the unknown....I can give some reassurance that after the first couple of months you will settle into life in an IVA, learn the budgeting skills and learn to do things that cost less but are still just as satisfying....going for a walk, taking a picnic out ...all the things that cost very little suddenly become very rewarding. You are in safe hands with your chosen IP and I am sure it would not have been proposed if they thought it woud be rejected by your creditors. Let us know how you get on.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
Thank you for your replies.
In one way I am quite looking forward to having a set budget to work to as for the last few months, we haven't had 2 pennies to rub together. I go out on payday and buy nappies, formula etc for the kids to last the month and then my husband and I make do. As long as the kids have what they need, we have gone without. Cancelled subscriptions, even life assurance and home insurance policies (reinstated from this month though) to try and keep up! My husband even had to call in sick to work for a few days as we didn't have money to fuel the car! I was using all our money to pay as much as we could towards our debts and they just kept getting bigger due to interest!
At least with the IVA we will be able to allocate our money where it needs to go.
I am just terrified as to what will happen for us if it is not accepted, but will keep fingers crossed.
Thanks again for the messages. Hope it will start to get easier. #128513;
its only natural to be wary of the unknown but i echo everyone thats applied to your post.
I made my last payment after almost 6 yrs in April, so have been there and worn the t-shirt.
I worried on numerous occasions, the initial proposal, every annual review, a chnage in circumstances that saw my take home pay drop by almost 50%, just the sight of a letter from my IVA co made me think something was wrong; i think its a natural reaction.
Im sure your prooposal will go through fine for reasons already posted, very few people post on here to say their proposal has been rejected
dont worry, go to bed later comfortable in the knowledge the financial worries you have had of late will shortly not be a worry and creditors wont be hounding you.
Good luck and be sure to post when your IVA proposal is accepted, which i fully expect it to be
Last payment made April 2012
Certificate received 1st Nov 2012
Well done on taking the initial steps to a debt free future!
As others have said above, it is a waiting game for the meeting to come round, but will soon be here and the journey can really begin.
We have 2 kids and own our home, and were worried about our iVa not being accepted, but your IP wouldn't put together a proposal and arrange the meeting if they did not think it would likely be accepted.
We wish you luck for the meeting date and hopefully you will have some good news to share afterwards !!!
Started IVA 27th Feb 2012 - Due to complete 27th Jan 2018 !!
Full & Final submitted and accepted 30th March 2015, paid 10th April 2015 - 3 yrs 1 month into IVA
Completion Certificate received- 30th April 2015!!
Glad to see that you are nearing the end of your journey, with one of the larger and well-established IP firms. They will be pleased to see the positive feedback that you are mentioning, and they do get hundreds of IVAs accepted by creditors each month, so I am sure you are in very good hands.
The process itself can be a little daunting, but your IP knows exactly what they are doing and will steer your case to success to the best of their ability. I personally would not advocate enquiring about proxy votes in advance of the meeting. Most IPs do not like to reveal this, as it can set up hopes which then have to be dashed by last minute voters. I made this mistake of doing this to a client a few years ago, when the major creditor changed their vote from one of acceptance to rejection 10 minutes before the creditors meeting. My client had got his hopes built up, and it was difficult to then explain to him that the landscape had changed.
I know exactly how nervous you must be feeling. I had my creditors meeting yesterday and had my IVA approved despite having convinced myself that it would be rejected, having had one rejected 5 years ago. I was advised by several people that the landscape has now changed and very few are rejected. Please try not to worry. Let us know how you get on.
I was worried also as everyone else has said but you settle into it each month..me and my partner now set weekly budgets for shopping petrol etc and we are aloud to save within our iva for xmas birthdays etc..well done for taking the first steps the forum is a great place for advice and genral letting of steam
I am no expert but would like to give advice based on my own personal experience...
Jojocox...I'm going to give you my warts and all take on being in an IVA, kind of like "things I wish my momma had told me" if you like. Some will say that I'm being overly negative but this is based on my own experience so far and having followed this forum quite closely since having the IVA approved.
Firstly, you'll come to realise that getting the IVA approved isnt such a big deal. If the IP is proposing it, then the chances of acceptance are very high. There may be modifications proposed and its up to you to think those through very carefully and decide if you are happy to live with them. Do not accept anything at this point if in your heart you know it will put too much pressure on you. Work with your IP and make sure that they understand your points completely and you are confident that they are going in to bat for you. Because once the IVA is accepted, the IP changes emphasis.
Second...Once it's accepted...its not always plain sailing. Not all IVA's run smoothly and not all IVA company's excel in the area of customer service post acceptance. You may find it hard to speak to your IP when you need them, indeed sometimes its virtually impossible to do this. Your circumstances may change and it may force a re think of the whole thing. There are things that can be done when this happens and the key is to talk to your IP, but see above for how stressful that can be.
Sometimes the landscape you signed up to changes...one IVA company can buy the book of another so you can find yourself with a company that you had not and would not have chosen. This can cause its own issues.
Budgeting - An IVA will present you with a monthly budget to work to, and you should get used to the feeling of getting to the end of the month with some money left in the bank. Its a nice feeling. My advice is to put the amounts for things like repairs/servicing away and not use them as part of the monthly budget. Something will inevitably crop up which costs more than you can afford that month otherwise. The other side is that you become resourceful. Our telly packed up a few weeks ago, we couldnt afford to replace it and the repair quotes were £100-£150. Eventualyl through a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend we found this brilliant man in a small back street shop who repaired it for £33. We now have a perfectly functioning telly. Before the IVA, we'd have probably wandered into Currys and slapped the cost of a new tv on to the credit card.
There are industry issues such as PPI and VAT claims that are causing delays to closure of IVA's...hopefully these shouldnt be a problem for you but it's worth checking that your IP will instigate a PPI claim sooner rather than later if they intend to do it.
You may have issues through the life of the IVA with things like renewing car/home insurance, mobile phone contracts, because they have credit agreements. In many cases it may work out best to stay with your current provider in order to avoid that.
Expect to pay more for things as a result of being in an IVA. Many things cost more to those with no money.
Use this forum, things like replacing a knackered car, how to cope with Christmas, getting a mortgage post IVA and just general tips and encouragement come from here and there are posters who's knowledge far exceeds my own. The IP's who post are excellent and many will recommend Mel particularly (me included) because she takes an interest in many many issues and will help people who arent even with her company. If you should get stuck in a rut with your company and can't seem to get to the right outcome...then here is the right place to seek help.
Lastly, some see being in an IVA as taking the steps towards a "debt free future". I see it differently. It's a b***** hard slog(already) with hopefully a good reard at the end. But there is always the worry that something can go wrong, as described above. If I knew all this at the start, would I have still entered into it? Yes, too b***** right I would have, but maybe with my eyes a little bit more open and I may have made different decisions.
That's why I'm telling you this. You have to be happy and prepared at the outset because its a commitment and a tough commitment but in most cases it's better than the alternatives.
I hope this helps you and doesnt put you off. It's not meant to be negative, just realistic.
As others have said, it is a rewarding but sometimes difficult journey and getting your budget right at the start is the most important thing. Good luck for you meeting x
Bradders, very insightful post there and everything you say is bang on the button, but as with everyone else (in the main) on here, the IVA is the best thing I could have done in the circumstances and sure beat the alternatives. Am sure that the proposal will work out fine for you Jojocox and good luck for the future.
Thank you all for your posts.
Bradders; I appreciate people who call a spade a spade! Much better than skirting round the subject. I am becoming more aware of both the pros and cons of an IVA (thanks to this forum) and really feel like it is something that we are going to enter into with our eyes open.
At the end of the day, even given how it is going to be tight for the next few years, it's not going to be a patch on how tight it would have been had we not chosen to do something about our finances. I think it is all too easy to try and bury your head in the sand and hope it will get easier (as we have been doing for the last few months), but at least now we know where we stand and will not be constantly trying to avoid the dreaded phone calls and red letters!
I have never had to be strict with money before as, before the kids came along, we had plenty to spare, and since having them, nothing left to be strict with!! I know it will be a challenge, but I am determined to make it work. My kids deserve more than the fallout of our stupidity and they are still young enough that, at the end of the IVA, we can start to save for their future.
Again, I welcome any tips/hints/advice to carry with me through this journey.
Thanks. #128512;
