Hello again,
Thanks again to everyone for their support...I've just sent off my application for a proposal from Melanie Giles, that was tough, trying to figure out monthly expenditures for things like food and clothing ( especially with 3 young children whose hobbies are eating and growing ). What happens when unexpected bills arrive or trying to save for things ( like Xmas and birthdays or car repairs ) do they bear in mind that you may need some kind of contingency fund ???
I'm now thinking ''are there things I forgot to mention '' that might affect the outcome and would an IVA be accepted for us...
Also should we look at setting up a new bank account and start trying to transfer things?????
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks again and best wishes to you all,
Don't worry about the figures you put into Melanie's website. One of Melanie's team will go through all of this in more detail with you when you have your telephone meeting. You will be allowed a coningency for car repairs and emergencies. You won't be given any allowance for Christmas or birthdays, but you can save these by cost cutting and saving your share of any overtime you might do.
I would wait until you speak to Melanie's team before you do anything, but it wouldn't hurt to open a new basic bank account if you bank with one of your creditors, so it's ready when you need it. You can transfer any essential direct debits to this account and get your wages paid in.
Good luck for your meeting. X
Last edited by Viki.W on Sun Nov 23, 2008 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I just wanted to add my "welcome to the forum" and good luck to you both. Now you have made the step with Melanie's firm , you are on your way. As Viki says there is no allowance for birthdays/Christmas but like us all, you'll soon find yourselves experts at bargain hunting and being frugal. Those pennies saved will add up for pressies.
Try not to worry about leaving anything out - you're in safe hands and Melanie's team will make sure everything is covered. The important thing is to be honest about all income and expenses.
Keep posting -you'll get loads of advice & support to see you through.
A big welcome from me too. As others have said, you're in very safe hands. You will be allowed enough to live on although it won't be a life of luxury it won't be a monk's either.
If you have debts with your current bank you need to open a new account not connected to any of your creditors.
Pixie
'Welcome to where ever you are, this is your life you've made it this far, welcome, you've got to believe right here right now is exactly where you're meant to be'
IVA started may 07 ended dec 08
I am so glad i found this forum , the advice and support from you all is priceless. Hopefully I can help someone in the future as you are helping me now . MANY, MANY THANKS to you all....
Now for my next question, which bank should I approach to open a new account???? My creditors are Halifax, MBNA, GE Money, Capital One and RBS. Looking at the forum posts alot of people seem to go with the co-op. Should I try them or could they be linked somehow with my creditors......how would you find this out??
Many thanks and best wishes
Paul and Lindsay.
They are not linked to Co-op, if your credit score isn't rubbish yet you may even get a proper current account, I did. If not, go for the cashminder. Just make sure if you get a full current account, you don't take any overdraft they offer you.
I think you will be fine with the Co-op. Don't bother with HSBC or First Direct as they tend to shut down accounts once you are in an IVA.
Nationwide is another one, Barclays isn't linked to any of them I don't think. One of the posters opened an account with Yorkshire Bank.
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
the light at the end of the tunnel will soon be switched on again . like you my husband and myself , 4 kids , the yougest was 6 months old, we had overspent, to the point we could no longer rob peter to pay paul. i had had 3 lots of maternity leave in 3 years and our debts were £100k . when we sat down and put pen to paper it hit us at how much debt we had actually had . like you sleepless nights, worry...... we didnt know which way to turn and got in touch with one of these companies ( knowing what i know now !!!) they charged us £1000 and put us in touch with an insolvency practitioner. our iva was agreed after 4 months and we pay £539 per month. we are now entering our 4 th year( starting making payments july 2005 iva agreed nov 2005 ). things are still tough week to week , but we can account for every penny . no luxuries and strangly enough im happy with it all. we do have around £40 k equity in our property but with the current state of mortagaes and lending i cant see us being able to remortgage for a huge sum .sometimes i feel ashamed about the iva and not even our families know. it was the only way for us to address our debt and to pay as much back as possible .so hang in there things will get better for you and you have made a great positive start .
I entered into an IVA with Melanie's company in August and have never looked back, it's the best step I have ever taken with regards finances. The budget is quite precise but we have found now that we actually have more money than we had before because all we were doing was paying out for credit cards and loans. At least now we have definite "pots" for everything and so relieved that we will get to Christmas and not worried about all the stuff we have put on cards.
I opened a new account with TSB before I was in default so managed to get a normal current account. They do credit check so they are no good if you are behind at the moment with anything. I opened two accounts - a normal current account where my salary goes in and all dd's go from and a savings so I put my allowance money in every month. I know a lot of people use the co-op as well but they have limited branches in case you need to pay in. You can pay in at the post office I think but they "post" it to the Co-op so can't pay in cash that way.
Thanks Elizabethr and Molly16 for your support,
This is definately a stressful time at the moment, and your words of support do help....I had a good chat with one of Melanies team (Tina) last night and she was brilliant. It really hits hard what kind of trouble you're in when everything gets itemised. I am in debt for around £65k and ashamed that I have got in this position. But all I am bothered about now is how this will affect my family, I don't want my children to suffer for my problems. I 've not met or spoken to Melanie yet but looking at the posts she replies to, and the times she does it ( one of mine was replied at half past midnight last night) proves what a dedicated person she is and I have total trust in what she might advise for us. Our Co-op account got confirmed today , so we are now trying to transfer our essential dd's and payments......my head is buzzing at the moment.... Hopefully 2009 will be the start of a better life, best of luck for both of you and keep posting, I definately will.
It's so reassuring to read all your stories;I hear all the same thoughts as me and my hubby have had over the last few months, well years actually! We have 75k of debt, which never realised until we spoke to someone who added it all up for us. What a wake up call. We opened an account with the Co-op last week, so good so far. Just trying to get all the info ready to send to IP.
thanks to everyone for being so honest x
Thanks to you aswell Breakdown, and the best of luck to you for the future. This forum has been a lifesaver for me, I don't know what i would have done without it....
Keep thinking positive, realising and dealing with your problems is the way forward.
Hi Brickwall - I have been reading your posts with interest and like you we are with MG and her team. We are at the point of having got the paperwork in (although Natwest are being slow about getting loan balances back to Angela) and are just waiting for the next stage. My husband is self employed and we have 2 young children (6 and 2). I dont work as hubby is away all week driving his truck and so essentially monday to friday I am the only carer and little boy does not start pre-school until September next year - and for what child care costs the type of job I would do to fit in with being on my own with 2 small kids is not worthwhile. Although a lot of the debt is in OH's name some of it is joint and I have one credit card in my name alone, we are hoping to do a "joint" IVA and have well over 100K of debt. We have robbed peter to pay paul for the last 5 years or so and a few months ago we realised that if we did not sort ourselves out we would go pop. But it took until October for us to actually pick up the phone and speak to someone officially. This forum has been an absolute god send of advice, support, reassurance and information and I could not be without it. There are quite a few of us on here at the same stage in the IVA process so it is great to hear how each of us is getting on. We managed to get our new business and personal bank accounts up and running with the Coop before we stopped paying the creditors. We have written to and spoken to all of our creditors and most have been okay but there are still one or two that continue to ring incessantly or send letters (black horse sent us 2 default notices yesterday). But I try not to worry too much about it and dont answer the phone to the numbers i dont know. We are in good hands and here's hoping that we will all be in a better place come early 2009!! Keep posting with your progress and fingers crossed for all of us!! Take care and keep strong! Fi xxx
Still gathering info....but hope to be on the right path pronto!!
