Paying extra into an IVA to finish early???

[worryhead]

Hi All
I was wondering if some one can help with a question i have, a friend of mine has had an IVA for 4 years 2 months and she has just made her final payment. I asked her why it had ended 10 months early and she said she had been paying extra lumps into it when she had spare cash since the beginning and this is why they have said she has paid the amount owed and can now finish this month as her final payment, i have never heard of this, is this something we can do to trim time off our IVA's?? i assumed if you had surplus cash it went into the IVA anyway and did not make a difference to the 5 year payments. Anyone else experienced this cause it sounds a good idea if its possible.

[sblack]

I don't think surplus payments effect the end date of an IVA. I would imagine that it would only finish early if the 100% of the entire debt plus any costs are satisfied.

[worryhead]

That is what i thought but she has not paid anymore then she would have paid over the 5 years...its so confusing

[MelanieGiles]

If she has paid in money that was not hers or was hers to validly keep - say from her 50% - then I see no reason why that should not shorten the term of an IVA, so long as no-one's interests were prejudiced. I have to say I have not come across it myself, and would be interested to learn Ian's views. The only thing which might be criticised is to close a case early, and then lose the right to claim an after-acquired asset, but so long as creditors were kept in the loop and agreed to early closure terms, then common sense prevails in my book!

[may07]

What is an after aquired asset? Never heard that term and dont know what it means?
May

[MelanieGiles]

It is an asset that comes into your hands after the agreement of an IVA or the making of a bankruptcy order - commonly referred to in IVAs as windfalls.