robbing peter to pay paul has run out on us

[marilyn.w]

Hi,My husband and i are in a bit of a fix with that dreaded word DEBT" and do not knoew what to do. We have been robbing peter to pay paul for a while now and its run out on us.

we are in a minus sum each month, we do not owe any one at the moment and have always managed to find the minimum payments with family help but that cannot go on foreever. I have phoned an company but have been told that because we have no disposeable income at the end of the month bankrupcy would be our answer and i do not want that if i can help it.

If all the monies we pay to creditors at the moment was taken into account i feel we could pay a sum of about £450 a month quite easily, has anyone else been in this situation and been helped out of it if so please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

how much is the minimum of disposeable income needed to qualify for an iva?

[Viki.W]

Hey Marilyn, welcome to the forum. I understand the situation you are in, I was exactly the same. Using money from one credit card to pay the minimum on another and eventually running our of credit. You're in the right place here for support and advice. I'm not sure how that company has said you have no disposable income if you think that you have £450. I would get a second opinion and contact an insolvency practitioner, have a look on www.iva.com for reviews. I am with Melanie Giles who posts on here and can highly recommend her. X

[MelanieGiles]

Hi Marilyn

If you have some disposable income which could be made available to creditors on a monthly basis, then an IVA may well be an option to look at but there are others.

How much do you currently owe to creditors?

[Til]

Hi Marilyn - welcome to forum - you are in the right place for help and support [:)]

Yes when working out if you have any disposable income left you effectively take your payments to creditors out of the mix. In other words if you pay all the 'normal bills' eg mortgage, gas, food etc each month and then would have £450 left if you didn't have to pay creditors - then that £450 is disposable income.

Seems like you have gotten bad advice in past so do contact someone to talk over the exact details of your situation - like Viki says Melanie Giles comes highly recommended - you will not be judged and it may just be the start of the end of your problems [:D]

Best wishes and good luck x

[angelrainbow]

Hello and welcome. Our IVA is not yet approved (meeting on Tuesday) but we are proposing £351 (very precise!) on £45K (jointly between the OH and I) This figure, as Til explains, is the disposable income including any monies that would previously have been paid to creditors.

Ring around a few companies and get a second opinion.

[aguise]

Hi and hello from me too. I think most have us have done the juggling from one bill to pay another. we certainly did for years literally before going for our iva. Speak to a good insolvency practioner, Melanie is highly recommended, get advice on alll the ssuitable options avaliable to you and make an informed decision on which way to go forward. I am sure you will be fine and will hopefully feel the relief that so many of us have at seeking a solution. Well done you.

Ang x

[jripley]

Which is the best topic to compare the IVA with a DMP

[MelanieGiles]

I'm not sure I understand your question, jripley, can you clarify what you are looking to have answered please?

[marilyn.w]

Hi Marilyn

If you have some disposable income which could be made available to creditors on a monthly basis, then an IVA may well be an option to look at but there are others.

How much do you currently owe to creditors?

Hi, We currantly owe approx 41k and have approx 39k in equity in our house.I am very ashamed over all this debt. I have recently had the figure's from the recent company i spoke to and they have made a mistake with one of my benefit incomes they have made the amount monthly and i get it weekly so i needed to amend that by three. They made it that we had a shortfall of £602 per month and it should have been £296. This company did give us a lot of extra items like monies for clothing/more fuel than we use/dental amd glasses/emergencies/hair cuts and personal items etc calculated into the income going out.My husband is a self employed builder/landscaper and due to the currant state of affairs has not had as much work coming in so has had to sub contract to another builder for a less amount for a while until work picks up and then he will get paid the better day rate. I do not work due to medical problems and my income is made up off 3 benefits.We have been holding our own with alot of joggling around but this cannot go on waiting for work to pick up. My two daughters have offered to pay me £250 each per month so on the figures this company have given me this would give us £204 in disposeable income. Would that be enough to qualify for an iva?
Another company i spoke to worked out we had a disposeable income of £262 but would only offer us a dmp which would take years to pay off much like the way we are at the moment or worse. they worked this out without offering all the hidden extra costs and there apr was 14.9%.I am not going to rush into anything and sign the first offer as i know i need to do my homework. I am going to check all our outgoings again. What i would like to know if i do have £204 disposeable at the end will i in your opinion qualify for an iva with the level of debt we have.I know you do not know all our history but i do so hope you can answer me with light at the end of the tunnel as i do not want to lose my home if i can help it. I hope to hear from you soon. regards maz.

[Soulgrowth]

Hi Maz ... and welcome to the forum.

I would definately give Melanie Giles' team a ring first thing on Tuesday ... you can rely on the advice you will receive from them ... Melanie is brilliant.

There will be a solution for you ... your story is so familiar to many of us here.

All the best ... and do keep in touch with the Forum and let us know how you get on.

Debbie

[marilyn.w]

Hi Maz ... and welcome to the forum.

I would definately give Melanie Giles' team a ring first thing on Tuesday ... you can rely on the advice you will receive from them ... Melanie is brilliant.

There will be a solution for you ... your story is so familiar to many of us here.

All the best ... and do keep in touch with the Forum and let us know how you get on.

Debbie

[jripley]

I suppose I want to know the pros and cons of each. I think I might be jumping into the first offer as I need an urgent solution I am going under with stress and want to try and keep my house until i can sell,downsize and sort out debts.
Is it right that if you do not have any disposable income the it means bankrupcty and that you have to have some disposable both for an DMP or IVA
If I go DMP then it appears to take longer to clear but maybe I will not have the small equity in my house or my lumpsum pension snatched which I need for other accomadation in the long term.
quote]Originally posted by MelanieGiles

I'm not sure I understand your question, jripley, can you clarify what you are looking to have answered please?
[/quote]

[MelanieGiles]

You do need either disposable income or assets to realise in either an IVA or a DMP otherwise you cannot make any form of offer to creditors. And your pension ought not to be affected under an IVA.