scared

[freelili]

i am a mom to three autistic kids. i had to move house in jan due to two of them not being able to share a bedroom. at christmas i was given a house and told i had to move or pay two lots of rent. the house was plastered walls and concrete floors. i used my c/card and had loans from the bank and provident to move and decorate a little, i still couldnt manage so had another loan. i work part time but well paid. my kids get disability payments. i am thinking about iva because i am sick with money worries. i am scared that the bank will take the kids money and not leave us anything for food, i owe around 30k and can afford around 300 per month. i have thought about suicide, i just cannot sleep or cope.

cthomp

[accgroup]

Hello

Do not worry, if you get the right advice you should be able to deal with your debt and get on with your life.

Based on the information you have provided, an IVA may be right for you, although I would urge you to contact a professional as soon as possible in order to obtain advice to suit to your own individual circumstances. If you visit our website below you will find our contact details, you can speak to an advisor for free. The advisor will go through all your income and expenditure and details of all your assets and liabilities in order to assess whether an IVA would be suitable. There are other options available such as debt management or, as a last resort, bankruptcy, and the advisor will be able to tell you which option is most suited to your circumstances.

An IVA is a big commitment, if you have no significant assets then it is likely to be based on monthly payments over a period of five years. However the sooner you deal with your debts, the easier it should be, so my advice is to speak to a professional ASAP.

Hope this helps



AccumaGroup
http://www.accumagroup.com - One of the UKs leading debt and insolvency advice firms with over 200 employees.

[freelili]

THANKS I DID SPEAK TO SOMEONE AND HE SUGGESTED THAT AND IVA IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR ME. I HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO OPEN ANOTHER BANK ACCOUNT AND ALTHOUGH I AM STILL AFRAID, MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE CREDITORS PHONE CALLS AND THREATS. I AM TERRIFIED OF LOSING MY INCOME AND NOT BEING ABLE TO FEED THE CHILDREN. HOW LONG DOES THE STRESS PART OF THIS TAKE? I AM LOSING SLEEP AND KEEP THROWING UP. WILL I REALLY FEEL BETTER? I DONT MIND LIVING ON A BUDGET.

cthomp

[accgroup]

Hello

It can take one or two months to get an IVA in place (or longer if you have more complicated affairs, on the information you have provided your affairs do not sound complicated).

The first stage is for the insolvency practitioner ("IP" - your advisor) to gather as much information as possible about all your assets and liabilities and income and expenditure so he can put together what is called an "IVA proposal". The proposal is your offer to your creditors, it is a long document as it contains a full history and details of your circumstances and standard terms and conditions which are required by insolvency legislation and industry guidelines.

If you have all the information to hand about your finances - current statements and copies of loan agreements, copies of your bank statements and pay slips and anything else which may be relevant to your circumstances then you should provide this to your IP, this should mean that the proposal can be prepared fairly quickly. Once you have agreed and signed the proposal it is sent to all of your creditors and they have to vote on whether to accept it at a meeting. Creditors have to be given at least 14 days notice of the meeting and then if your IP isn't able to get the IVA approved at the meeting he can adjourn it for up to a further 14 days in order to try to get creditors to accept it.

So, although the process does take a while you will be making a positive step towards sorting out your finances. If creditors call while you are waiting for the IVA to be approved, just tell them that you are putting together a proposal for an IVA, give them the name and telephone number of your IP and hopefully they might give you some breathing space, they will probably keep calling until the IVA is approved but try to be strong and send any correspondence you receive to your IP as you might find this relieves the stress.

As I say, an IVA is a big commitment and it does take time in order to put the proposal together but this is so that we get it right to make sure that you can afford to meet the payments over 5 years. If your IVA is accepted I am sure you will feel a lot better, after it is approved contact from creditors should eventually stop - you may have read on this site that creditors have carried on contacting people after the IVA goes through, this can happen but you should not worry - there can be a lapse of time while they update their records and you can pass any calls or correspondence onto your IP.

Hope this helps



AccumaGroup
http://www.accumagroup.com - One of the UKs leading debt and insolvency advice firms with over 200 employees.

[freelili]

thanks, i do feel a little better, i thought that i was the only one but actually my situation is not as bad as some of the others on this forum. its a brilliant idea and has already helped me a lot. going to try to open another bank account tomorrow, before i get the iva.[;)]

cthomp

[iva_squirrel]

Hello,


There are people who have been in the exactly the same position as you and have somehow found the strength to come out of it and have gone on to find happiness and fulfilment in life and to be able to cope with life more easily - they have found alternatives to suicide and were glad that they did not take their own life.

You may feel that nobody cares about you anyway but there are people who will care if you allow them to care for you. I care deeply that you did even think of ending your life, that you see no hope, no alternative, but something so final as death. You are a mother with two children and they need you more than anything.

There are two legally binding agreements so there is light end of the tunnel. One of them is IVA.

An IVA is a legally binding arrangement supervised by a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, the purpose of which is to enable an individual, sole trader or Partner ("the Debtor") to reach a compromise with his creditors and avoid the consequences of bankruptcy.

An IVA is suitable when someone is unable to pay off their debts but does not want to file for bankruptcy. It can be an attractive option to all parties including the creditors as often it presents for them a better result than under bankruptcy.

There are certain criteria however that are required for an IVA to have a good chance of success. It is recommended that a debtor speaks to one of our advisors to get a better understanding of what these are.

Hope this helps


For more information about IVAs, please visit my website:
www.supersonicsquirrel.net

[freelili]

HI, THANK YOU FOR THAT, I WILL TRY TO BE STRONG. FOR SOME TIME NOW I HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH LIFE WITH A BLACK CLOUD JUST BEHIND ME, I HAD KNOWN IT WAS THERE BUT I TRIED TO WALK FASTER AND NOT LOOK BACK. IT HAS CAUGHT UP WITH ME NOW AND I HAVE TO FACE IT. I HAVE REALISED THAT MY KIDS NEED A HAPPIER MOM,I FELT LIKE I HAD FAILED THEM, BUT I SUPPOSE IVE JUST FALLEN, AND IN ORDER NOT TO FAIL I MUST GET UP. ITS HARD BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP. I HAVE BEEN GETTING MY STUFF TOGETHER FOR THE IVA, GOING TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT NOW, I HOPE[:u]

[Dominic]

you have not fallen or failed, as long as you live there is every chance to succeed, this IVA is just a tool and a step to better times, a passage to better things.

[freelili]

THANK YOU, I AM SURE I WILL GET THROUGH THIS. I TRIED TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT YESTERDAY, MY DRIVING LICENCE WAS REGISTERED TO MY OLD ADDRESS SO THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT IT, I HAVE SENT IT OFF TO BE RE-REGISTERED. I WAS QUITE NERVOUS, SHAKING, I AM SURE THEY THOUGHT I WAS SOME SORT OF TERRORIST. IF THEY ASK WHY I AM CHANGING ACCOUNTS WHAT DO I SAY? SHOULD I TRY AT SEVERAL BRANCHES TO SPEED THINGS UP OR IS IT BEST TO TRY ONE AT A TIME?

cthomp

[neverending]

Hi
Just stick to the one you have applied to rather than try at many others.You have a few weeks to sort out a new account.
You have passed the hardest part of managing your debt and that is accepting that you cannot continue ignoring the problem.
I know that you are going through a very stressful time now and it is at this time that you may not think clearly.Try to ask all the questions that you think of when speaking to your IP[the person setting up your IVA]and ensure that you understand the ins and outs of an IVA.
Life WILL be so much better once it has been approved and is up and running plus you have an advantage over millions of people in that you will be completely debt free in 5 years !!!
Good luck and keep posting

[freelili]

THAMKS FOR THE KIND MESSAGES. THIS FORUM HAS BEEN A LIFE SAVER.

cthomp

[Dominic]

thats right Neverending, there will be disposable income, not a huge amount, not enough to go on a cruise or anything like that but at least not every penny you get will go to the banks. Time to look to the future, stuck to the plan and be free in five years.

[spenmotherhen]

Hello Freelili
I have just read your previous messages and I can sympathise with the way you are feeling. You must realise that everyone has had hick ups some time in thier lives and have got through them. I am a mother of four and also had a huge hick up with debt. For ages I also ignored it and continued to give my children all the things their friends were getting etc but all on credit of course. When I finally admitted that I was out of my league after giving up full time employment to look after my children, I looked into an IVA and although it took some time to sort out and several threatening letters from my unpaid creditors, I can now pay a monthly payment which does not leave me worrying how I am going to find the next meal for my children. We live to a budget which sometimes is a little challenging but it gives you a sence of pride that you CAN do it and you have taken a huge step forward in realising you had a problem and have dealt with it. Please don't look on yourself as a failure its life and it does happen, just take a look at this forum and you will see there are alot of people who are in the same boat and these are the people that have realised there is a problem! No matter how bad it feels now, once eveything is in place you will feel so much happier and your family life can return to "normal". I hope things work out for you, best of luck!!
Spenmotherhen x

[freelili]

HI STEPMOTHERHEN

THANK YOU FOR YOUR MESSAGES, I APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH. YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD TO GIVE UP YOUR JOB TO LOOK AFTER YOUR CHILDREN. I WORK IN THE NHS AS (CHIROPODIST) AND I HAVE HEARD THIS WEEK WE MAY BE LOSING OUR JOBS. IS IS POSSIBLE TO REPAY THE DEBT IF YOU ARE OUT OF WORK FOR A TIME? I TOO HAVE FOUR CHILDREN, BUT THEY ARE OLDER KIDS, YOUNG TEENAGERS. I HAVE EXPLAINED THAT I AM STRESSED AND SHORT OF MONEY AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT. THEY SAY THEY JUST WANT ME TO BE HAPPY.

LILY

[Oliver]

Hello

If you had not already proposed an IVA before you lost your job it is possible to propose a successful IVA with you being out of work. However, there are many factors to consider. You will need to be able to offer your creditors a reasonable dividend and this amount of money may not be available to you if you are out of work. Usually there would be little or no income if a person is out of work and therefore an IVA is not workable, however, under your present circumstances if you received a careers allowance this may be enough to propose an acceptable IVA. If your proposal is based on money received in benefits only it is likely that your creditors may decline your proposal on moral grounds as those benefits have been given to support the cost of living and not to pay your creditors.

If you are in an IVA and you have to stop work through no fault of your own your Insolvency Practitioner may be able to suspend your IVA arrangements until you are back at work. This would have to be agreed by the majority of your creditors.

Have you looked into the other options available to you such as Bankruptcy?

I really believe that you would benefit from an informal and free chat with a Debt Adviser please feel free to give us a ring on the number below.



You can access Video Clips giving additional information about IVAs at:
http://www.thomascharles.com/interview_ ... an_iva.asp

If you would like more information about IVAs, other debt solutions, or just want to arrange an informal chat, please visit us at www.thomascharles.com.

Best Regards
James Falla
www.thomascharles.com