Hi, I have only just come across this board having started our journey in 2015, but thought I'd post now our settlement has been agreed!
Our own doing, we owed £35,000 approx on a loan and credit cards. In 2015 after having baby no. 2 I contacted a debt agency and started a DMP. I was still all consumed by debt & in 2016 agreed to an IVA. Our payments were manageable but restrictive. I hated not being able to take my children on holidays etc, but, we stuck rigidly and ticked each month off.
A few times we had an unexpected bill to pay (water leak, dentist etc) and our supervisor was brilliant, that months payment would be delayed.
Christmas 2019, we were 3 years into it and we decided to see if we could remortgage our house and offer a lump sum settlement. Incredibly, our mortgage advisor found a lender that agreed to offer us a new mortgage which included a sum of £23,000 to pay off the IVA. All was going well, our creditors (5 in total) agreed - however due to a clause with our house which was on 'help to buy', Homes Englans refused to let the remortgage go ahead. We were devastated (May 2020).
I had a health scare, lockdown meant my part time business was closed (this was our food money). Our supervisor was incredible and suggested we offer another plea to the creditors with what we could afford in terms of settlement. We offered £2,000 - and detailed how we had tried our best to remrotgage, complied with every single request of our supervisor in the 3 years, delcared any extra income each month and paid 50% straight away.
Incredibly, today, this has been agreed!!!! I have paid the £2,000 which we have cobbled together from unexpected overtime last month, and family, and I await the next steps (if anyone has guidance on what this is, that would be great!).
It has taught us such a lesson- and I am so excited to start this new chapter of our lives and save before spending!
It is unbelievably scary, it is daunting, and has been the hardest 4 years living with the debt and owning up to it. But trust me, coming out the other side is wonderful.
Keep going, you've got this!
