We stopped paying, having never previously missed a payment, and it felt very strange, as well as scary. Melanie organised our IVA very quickly so we didn't get too much hassle with the exception of Next Catalogue who were a nightmare (only stopped ringing last week, and we are three months into IVA...

Lily,
Sending you a virtual hug and squeeze for a better day tomorrow.
Blue

Great news.
Well done!
Blue

Hi Joanna If things are so very difficult, it might be worth telling your IP so you can decide on your next steps. I am not an expert, but with no equity in your house, would BR not be an option for you? I know you are 7 months in, but the remaining 4 years 5 months are going to be impossible if you...

Hi fudge I'm so pleased that the OR meeting went well for you. I have been reading your postings and know how anxious you have been. The relief at finally getting things sorted is indescribable isn't it? (We are in IVA, and are so grateful for the opportunity to sort ourselves out financially after ...

Interesting about who you tell......we haven't told anyone at all; and as there are no visible signs (no house move or change of car etc) I'm not sure anyone will know unless they found us on the insolvency register. In fact, we probably appear to have more money than previously, as we constantly us...

Hi colmar, We have three children and our monthly expenses are pretty high as a result (childcare, compulsory uniforms, school dinners, food, clothes etc) However, we used Melanie Giles and her team to propose our IVA, and they were fantastic from start to finish. They were able to appreciate just h...

Hi We had three estate agents round prior to IVA, one gave us valuation in writing, one verbal valuation and the other refused to say what their valuation was unless we signed the papers there and then! (we obviously didn't) Interestingly the written valuation matches the asking price of a very simi...

Our IVA was arranged by Melanie and her team pretty quickly, but we managed to save enough to pay for uniform & shoes (£360); replace guttering (£300) and keep a few hundred pounds spare as hubby has to pay for travel/hotel expenses up front and claim back the following month as expenses(as much as ...

Hi We too had never missed any payments when we began the IVA process, although it was only a matter of weeks as we had exhausted all lines of credit and were robbing Peter to pay Paul! Suddenly, we found that we were in this awful position of just about managing our money, to considering an IVA, wh...

Good news! It seemed so trivial to make you change it for the sake of a few hundred pounds. You must be delighted!
Blue

Hi Poppy £12 a month for clothes? Is your IP living in the real world? You couldn't buy a decent bra for that, let alone a pair of shoes/coat/suit for work/pair of jeans etc!! You must insist they increase the amount you're alllowed; it really is incredibly low! (btw we are allowed £100 for 5 of us,...

Hi Michelle, In our IVA we have £210 a month allocated for school costs which includes school dinners, fruit and milk money, swimming lessons, trips and compulsory uniforms, including shoes. It sounds a lot but we have three daughters(all in primary school), and we probably spend a bit more than tha...

Hi Melanie, If a creditors' meeting has to be called to vary the IVA payment in light of mortgage interest rate increases, and there are 10 interest rate rises during the life of the IVA for example, would the additional costs of calling several meetings not lead to an IVA being extended by long per...

I read posts for months before posting, and of course, during that time the debt got worse! Now two payments into IVA and still a daily reader!
Blue