Good evening all, I have been lurking on here for a few weeks now after trying to decide how the hell Im going to get my life back into some kind of order, quick overview... Ive had credit cards since I was old enough to have them, I admit to living beyond my means for most of my life,my mum moved to Spain 7 years ago which added to my finances having to go and see her,I work for public sector and all overtime has now been cut completely and then just to top it off, in Feb this year I discovered my fiance was cheating and the day before we were due to fly abroad to get married he told me he wasnt coming and fled to be with his new 'love'!! He lived with me in my house so I am now also missing his financial contributions every month plus wedding expenses put on MY credit card [:(!]! So time for action I thought and what better time to sort my life out and I have spoken to 3 Iva companies and had telephone interviews with them all, all 3 recommend an Iva due to my horrendous level of debt (£67,000) a DMP would take 18 years if no more interest added or 27 years with interest!! Im 41 yrs now so would be paying until I retire on DMP so am going for the IVA and have decided to go with CCCSVA, I am now trying to get all my paperwork together to send in so they can draft a proposal for me, would just like any advice on what other people do at this early stage re payments to creditors, I have 12 creditors and they are all due this months payment, shall I pay them a token amount or not, or is this a bit too cocky at this early stage, also any other tips would be appreciated...Sorry if ive completely rambled on and I hope Ive posted this on the right bit!! Thanks [:I]
HI and welcome to the forum. Glad you decided to post and sorry you've had a real rough time personally.
Whether to pay token payments or not is totally up to you and usually has no bearing on the outcome of the meeting, some IP's advise not to pay token payments and accrue a contingency fund to help with any emergencies that occur during an IVA.
All the best and do keep posting. x
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free future.
Have you opened up a new bank account yet? If you bank with one of your creditors then you would need to do this (if not done already).
I never bothered with token payments. Decided to try and save what I could instead.
Many, many friendly people on here so do keep posting as there is always somebody on here who can help
Hi
Glad you have taken the first steps. You are in safe hands with CCCSVA.
I would pro-rata the payment that you are due to pay into your IVA [your disposable income] and send this to each of your creditors each month until your IVA is in place
Thanks for your replies... Im currently with Yorkshire bank who I have no debts with (unbelievably!) but have read some where on here that if they get wind of an IVA they will close my account so I have just opened a Co-op cashminder account in preperation just incase!!
1 of my many questions is.. I am sending a copy of all my credit card statements but last month statement for my Barclaycard card shows some transactions from end of March (petrol, food shoping and a few other bits) I feel quite embarressed to send this but had no hard cash to pay for things towards the end of the month!! I havent used it this month at all and my new statement is due next week and wont have any transactions on it so should I waitand submit this one or will the IVa company not care?
Hi Oscarsmum, welcome from me too. As soon as I had instructed an IP I stopped making paymnents and put any spare cash into a contingency fund, and very quickly opened a new bank account, transferred DD's into it along with my salary. As has already been said, token payments or not have no affect on creditors votes, neither will it stop calls from creditors so is a personal choice
I opened an account with Yorkshire Bank just prior to my IVA and they have been no problem at all, I would also just send the statement from Barclays that you have, believe me, they have seen it all before
Hello and welcome. Don't be overly embarrassed by recent entries on your CC statement. I think most of us who ended up needing CCs just to survive used them until the very end! BUT ... don't use them again having now decided to take action. Most creditors will understand.
If your case is fairly straightforward it won't be long until your proposal is ready ... the longest part is collecting everything together!
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
please dont feel embarrassed-as the guys have said we've all been there and i can so relate to how you feel.
the main thing is be proud of yourself for making an effort to sort it. as the otheres have said yorkshire bak do a basic account with a maestro card or the coop cashminder account
just take your time and please try not to stress. use this site for the unlimited help and support these lovely guys give-3 years later they still help me [:p]
My heartfelt sympathy goes out to you with what you have been through. Life sometimes throws some pretty challenging times our way and it is a really positive sign that you have built up the courage to face your finances head on and work to resolve your predicament you find yourself in after such a nasty shock to your lovel life.
I echo the above ensure you have both your personal Bank Account and also if you use a separate one for household bills make sure you have no debts with that bank. Otherwise open new ones and ensure your wages are paid into the new account to prevent any offsetting of debt occurring. I have full bank accounts with Barclays and Santander with cheque book, guarantee Visa cards, Direct Debits the lot however if I tried to open a bank account with them now they would refuse me because of the IVA. What a weird and wonderful world we live in eh?
Personally I would stop paying all creditors and use the money for a contingency during the IVA process. Prepare yourself for a LOT of phone calls and letters but providing your IVA is approved this will stop. When you do your income/expensiture form with your IVA company make sure they take into consideration things like personal hygeine Dental Appointments, Eye care etc and don't downplay your essential bills in the hope of a greater chance of acceptance. 5 years is a long time and you need to be upfront and honest with your IP with what your expenditure will be otherwise you will struggle to make the payments if the IVA payment is too high because you have not given an accurate account of your monthly expenditure.
Other than that I suggest regularly visiting this site and gaining strength and conviction from reading about other people going through exactly the same as you and take comfort of the light at the end of the tunnel.
Hi, welcome, as you see you're not alone. we went with a CO OP basic bank account - no problems at all.
we were advised to stop payments,we didn't even make token payments. save,save,save every spare penny& £ for your emergency fund - guard it no dibbing in when fed up!
i felt so guilty stopping payments,i thought we were up to date but everything was running a overdraft up higher each month.
we've all been there,things can be sorted out& get better. well done for facing up to the problem x
Nothing stays the same...everything changes..hang on in there!
Hi! Whether or not you make any payments is a personal choice...there's no hard and fast rule. I didn't make any payments. With 12 creditors all writing and calling day and night, I may have been tempted (I had five creditors which were more than enough to handle). But you could always see how you get on with the calls...they bother some people more than others. I only ever found them a nuisance but some get quite upset. Mind you...I was already well used to being chased for payment! I'm so glad you've found us as entering an iva will be one of the best things you do. It will turn your life around!!! xx
I had eight creditors and didn't make any payments at all to them. I had been in a DMP and just stopped the payments to that and to remainder of the creditors.
It makes no difference at all to how they vote and it's good to have a little money behind you just in case.
I ignored the calls as well!
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
