Firstly, I am sorry if this question has been asked numerous times (I actually know that it has as I have been looking for a while!)
We have an IVA out with GT - they have been quite helpful so far and I phoned them this morning for some information on F&F offers.
The advisor mentioned something about the lowest they can take is 15p to the £... This confused me a little bit. We owe around £12000 on the IVA and we have the opportunity to clear it early through a friend of the family.
Due to a change in circs, our income has reduced quite a bit, I had to send GT a change in circs form through which shows that we are paying £150 per month more than the financial summary says we can afford... as we all know, you juggle life about to make sure that you can make the payments but I suppose my question is:
If the change in circs form indicates that we may have to reduce our payment, is a F&F offer be more or less likely to be agreed?
Secondly, we own our house but we have almost no equity (around £5000) - GT advised me that it is likely to be deleted as an asset. Based on this and the above, does anyone have any advice on a realistic settlement offer to make? OR any experience offering their own F&F?
I would think an offer based on what your actual surplus is mulitplied by the remainder of the IVA would be sufficient. You may have to add in the equivalent of an extra year as any reduction in payments would normally lead to an extension.
Hi Michael, thanks for your reply... So our CIC form comes out that our surplus is £234 per month although we are currently paying £433.33 - quite a big difference - they advised us that our shopping budget was too low as well but as I said, we juggle about quite a bit to ensure that the repayment is met as we just want to come out of it ASAP.
Would you suggest £234 x 2 years? Our arrangement originally was meant to finish May 2016 but 6 months have been added to it from when my husband came out of work and we made reduced payments.
Eg: £234 x 12 months (until May 16)
+ £234 x 6 months (extension from reduced payments)
+ £234 x 12 (equity)
That seems more than reasonable and I would even consider £6k. It always seems to me unfair to go past six years so even if you did get a reduction in payments personally I would try and limit the extension to the remainder of a six year term.
I would say put the offer on the table -- don't forget the dividend will be swollen by any extra payments you might have made in the past as well as any PPI refunds they might have got or be able to get hold of. On top of this, both the IP and the creditors are saving a bit in administration by not having to process many small payments over the rest of the term.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Hi Emmie - I agree with Michael and Foggy - creditors should consider that they are getting paid off quicker and the administration costs will be reduced so a lower offer of £5-£6k would seem reasonable.
Hi all, I wasted no time and used the template letter to make an offer to them. I agreed that we would continue our regular monthly repayments until they have reached a decision. I also know that they have been quite successful reclaiming PPI so there should be extra money in that pot for them too.
Here's hoping we receive a positive response!! It will be a special day when it's all done and dusted!!
Thanks for your replies! What a helpful bunch you are!!
Emmie
Just another quick query, they have just phoned and confirmed receipt of the offer. They said that around 10 working days they will ring us to discuss our options....
What does the discussion of options mean? Does it mean that they will advise us whether the offer is reasonable or unreasonable etc?
I'm just a bit concerned and anxious about it now!
I would hope by then they will be in a position to give you a draft of the offer and to go over it with you. Fingers crossed. GT handled a F&F offer for me and the variations department were excellent.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
I suspect they want to do a bit of maths and check whether they think the offer is fair and reasonable etc and whether they are then on that basis able to recommend that creditors accept it when they send the variation report out.