some newbie questions.

[nathan h]

Hi everyone, I've had a debt management plan with a company called Chase Saunders for the last 5 months and all had been going well until I recently when I found out that one of my creditors had not frozen interest on my debt. The end result is that the amount I'm paying now means it will be over 6 years before my debt management plan is clear and that's only on the assumption that the interest is frozen soon. After talking in depth with Chase Saunders the IVA was suggested as it would more than half my monthly debt, and i would be guaranteed to have it paid off after 5 years. I have read a lot of the posts on here and am still a little unsure about a few of things in regards to a IVA.

Once the IVA is up and running can I up my payments and reduce the period of the IVA and is there a limit on what I can pay?

I have read that once completed it can take up to three months to receive completion certificate, how long will the IVA stay against my credit report? and would it be possible to apply for a mortgage a year after completion of IVA with no problems.

and lastly has anyone had any dealings with the debt management company CHASE SAUNDERS good or bad? Should I contact other company's to get there out look on my circumstances and if I should stay in a debt management plan or go with IVA.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated

many thanks

Nathan

[MelanieGiles]

There seems to be some link between this company and David Mond's Abacus Financial Services, so David can probably give you advice as to the quality of work carried out.

You may find it difficult to persuade creditors who are getting monthly DMP payments over a six year period to change over to an IVA, but if you feel that the security and certainty of an IVA is the right way forward it is worthy of consideration.

[David Mond]

Hi and welcome from me. Chase Saunders is as far as I am aware purely a DMP company based in the North West of England. I am not aware of any link with Abacus (Financial Consultants) Limited (not Abacus Financial Services)which is a company within the ClearDebt Group.

I am not aware as to whether Chase Saunders refer IVA cases to ClearDebt but I will find out for you - Size 5 will respond early tomorrow on this thread.

The contributions you make into an IVA is based solely on your disposable income based on a proper assessment of all your income and expenditure. Your expenditure is based upon the CCCS/CFS guidelines.

It should not take 3 months to issue a Certificate of Completeness - it certainly does not from my firm - usually a few weeks at best.

You need to have a chat with an IP and give him/her details of all your personal and financial circumstances and particulars.

Visit www.iva.com for reviews on firms and practitioners and select one or two to have a chat with. They will give you
the most appropriate advice and it is free. Let us know how you get on.

[size5]

Good morning everyone.

There is no link at all between Chase Saunders and Cleardebt/Abacus(Financial Consultants) Ltd. I cannot comment on any link with Abacus Financial Services as I don't work for them but it looks unlikely as I believe they are in a different field altogether.

An IVA to replace a DMP where debts could be cleared in 6 years may be tricky as Mel points out, but if you have already tried an informal solution, i.e a DMP, and it didn't work, e.g creditors not freezing interest, then it is certainly worth looking at under the terms of the protocol.

Hope this helps.

Regards.

[MelanieGiles]

Mike

If you go onto their website it clicks through to the Abacus website when you click on the partners button at the bottom. I am assuming that this is your company?

[size5]

You learn something new every day!!

You are correct, as always, Mel. However, there is no business link between the 2 companies. I am assured by our web wizard that web links were swopped around 4 years ago and have basically just stayed there doing nothing.

All a little over my head really, but I will look into it further.

Regards.

[David Mond]

News to me too - ClearDebt Group only purchased Abacus (Financial Consultants) Limited in 2007 - will look into this [:0]

[nathan h]

thanks for all the replys, as it stands at the moment my main creditor (lloyds tsb) has still not frozen interest and out of the 360 a month i pay them they are taking 240 for interest? with the cost of living going up and day to day bills rising im now struggling to pay the DMP. when deciding if a IVA is the best option do they take into account missed payments?

thanks

nathan

[kallis3]

The vast majority of us will have missed payments before entering into an IVA, I certainly had.

It will have no bearing on whether or not you are approved.