my husband and i were entered into an iva in sept 2005 was to be 60 months at 63p in the pound. the creditors said they wanted 80p in the pound so it was extended to 72 payments. the company we choose was DEBT FREE DIRECT. We both have good jobs and our normal payment was first set at 713 pounds per month for a months our normal payment went down to 635 pounds plus 60% of any overtime. we have paid 52.000 back out of a 55.000 pound debt. this amount has been paid back over 52 months we asked if we could be considered for release out of the IVA and were told we would have to pay all 72 payments and any money over we would get a refund off. also that they may be able to waver the interest. what interest? my question is if you were buying a washing machine for 200 pounds over 36 payments and were able to clear the debt in 12 payments you would not keep paying another 24 payments. WE ARE GOOD MONEY TO DEBT FREE DIRECT AND I THINK THATS WHY THEY WONT RELEASE US. THEY ALSO WENT TO COURT IN 2008 WITH OUT OUR KNOWLEDGE AND THE CREDITORS AGREED THEY COULD HAVE AN EXTRA 100 POUND PER MONTH. ALL BILLS HAVE IN CRASED SINCE THE IVA STARTED WE DO NOT GET ANYTHING EXTRA TO COVER THIS EXTRA AMOUNT.
Hi Paula and welcome to the Forum.
If you agreed 72 months at the beginning the IVA will have to run for that length of time. If you have paid more than was originally agreed the return to creditors will be higher but the term will remain the same unless creditors have been paid in full plus the costs of the IVA.
If you are finding the payments hard to manage it may be best to ask DFD to reduce them to a more affordable level for the remainder of the term and I suggest you email Declan from DFD who posts on here. His details can be found in the experts section and he has personally helped a number of DFD clients.
yes we have called them emailed them they are not interested in any early release. why would we have added to the debt we all ready had DEBT FREE DIRECT say their fees are between 9 and 10 thousand pounds which we were never told at the start of the iva. WE WERE TOLD OUR FEES COME OUT OF THE MONEY YOU PAY THE CREDITORS.
That is usually the case as it is not that common for creditors to get 100p in the £. However, if you do repay in full, the fees do become payable on top but regardless the amount of the fees would be considerably less than the amount of interest that would have been charged had you continued trying to repay.
THANK YOU MICHAEL PEOPLES FOR YOUR QUICK RESPONCE. HOWEVER IVA S ARE SET UP WITH A MINIMUM PAYMENT AND THEN SO MUCH OF THE DEBT IS WRITTEN OFF. WE PAY A MINIMUM PAYMENT PLUS 60% OF ANY MONEY THAT DFD SAY IS OVER THE LEGAL AMOUNT WE CAN LIVE ON. THERE IS NO WAY I WANT A LONGER TERM WITH A SMALLER AMOUNT I WANT TO BE RELEASED ASAP. I WAS NEVER TOLD AT THE BEGINING OF THIS IVA IF IT IS FOUND YOU CAN AFORD TO PAY BACK 100 PERCENT OF YOU WILL HAVE TOO PLUS OUR FEES OF BETWEEN 9 AND 10 THOUSAND POUNDS. WHY WOULD I OF ADDED MORE MONEY TO MY DEBT. WE WOULD NEVER OF AGREED TO THIS IF WE WERE TOLD THIS AT THE BEGINING.
Hi Paula
As mentioned, I work for DFD and am more then happy to help you resolve this issue as best I can. If you would like to email me, my details can be found in the experts section.
I apologise if you have felt let down by us and I do heope we can resolve this for you.
HELLO DECLAN. WHAT TIME OF HELP COULD YOU OFFER US. AS YOUR TELEPHONE ADVICERS ARE NOT THAT HELPFUL AT WANTING TO HELP AT ALL. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO WITH OUT DFD SAY SO. THEY SAY THEY DONT WANT TO RELEASE US TILL SEPT 2011.
You owe the full amount to your creditors whilst in an IVA and then if you satisfactorily complete it then the remainder is written off. This would of all been explained to you at the beginning and would of also have been in the chairmans report. You must of signed paperwork???
Hello Paula - The other posters are correct in what they have told you, but I would urge you to contact Declan who will do his best to sort things out for you as he has done so for other contributors to this forum who are with DFD,such as me - as I too have a 55000 debt and have often felt cast adrift with this company who don't exactly keep their clients helpfully informed at times!
pelder.....i have made regular payments to dfd and regular overtime payments also so on a monthly basis we pay approx 1 thousand 1 hundred pounds this is how we have paid back so much money in a short space of time. so out of the 55.000 debt i have paid back nearly 56.000 it should run for another 15months which is approx another 16.000 thousand pounds ..........so on a 55.000 pound debt i would now be paying back approx 72.000 why i didnt owe 72.000 pounds my creditors have had 100 percent back or have they not???? dfd have had control of our money for 5 years i think its time we were released iva is ment to help ppl i think they are very clever with the wording in their contract which was nothing like the original papers that we recieved....... which says our fees come out of the money you pay the creditors ....which is so not the case their papers should say YOU HAVE TO PAY BACK 100 PERCENT OF YOUR DEBT PLUS OUR FEES OF BETWEEN 9 TO 10 THOUSAND POUND WHY WOULD ANY ONE ADD ANOTHER 10 THOUSAND POUNDS TO AN ALREADY LARGE DEBT. AS YOU CAN SEE BY THIS POSTING I CANT SLEEP FOR WORRYING ABOUT THIS... ALSO I PHONED DFD TO SPEAK TO DECLAN AND WAS TOLD THAT HE DOES NOT TAKE CALLS. AND THAT ANYTHING ASKED TO DECLAN IS PASSED TO DFD FOR THEM TO ANSWER........
RHB SO THIS GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION THAT EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT ....TO HELP WHO......... YOU AGREE IT SHOULD BE MADE CLEAR ......WHEN ENTERED INTO THE IVA HOW CAN YOU PAY BACK MORE THAT YOU ORIGINALLY OWED HOW FAIR IS THAT ............I ASKED DEFT FREE DIRECT WHO ARE THEY ACTING FOR ME OR MY CREDITORS TO WHICH THEIR REPY IS BOTH SO DOES THIS MEAN THEY GET PAID TWICE BY ME AND BY MY CREDITORS COS I HAVE LEARNED THIS COMPANY DOES NOTHING FOR NOTHING.
I am not trying to be rude here, but I tell it how I see it, you really should have done more research into IVAs before you took the plunge. The idea is to pay back AS MUCH AS YOU CAN over the term of the IVA, plus overtime entitlement, windfalls and IP fees. In my view, IVAs are not a good idea, only if someone wants to protect their property or career. Bankruptcy is a far better option, same ruination of credit file, etc but less money to pay back and over a shorter time period. The people on here will try to persuade you otherwise, afterall, IVAs are their BUSINESS but you should have put yourself first and done some research.
That said, I do feel sorry for you, you have learned the hard way
I'm sorry that you have had such a hard time Paula, but the other posters are correct in that you will always owe the total amount to your creditors, plus fees.
If you click on the experts link on the left hand side of the page, you can email Declan and he will do his best for you.
I have to disagree with Captain Sensible. An IVA is the best thing if you wish to pay back as much as possible to your creditors. You will always be advised on here to speak to several companies and explore all of your options before making a final decision.
People are not persuaded that an IVA is the best thing.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
