My wife and I are both in an IVA. The wifes IVA is for 5 years and my IVA is for 6 years. Having just completed her final review for the 5th year the wife asked how her income would affect my review next year which would be my final 6th Year.
She was informed that her income would be taken into account when it comes to determing how much I would be paying for the final year. The wife is very annoyed about this as it appears in all but name she is responsible for contributing to my IVA becasue we are associated by marriage. I would have assumed that my income and half of the household expenses would be my responsibility for the final year. If this isn't the case and disposable income from our joint income is used for IVA repayments then the wife has in affect had a 6 year IVA.
Hope this makes sense.
Payplan's M.O is to include all household income, which effectively means solvent members of the household are all paying towards the debt.
Whether this still stands or not, I don't know, but, at the start of my IVA journey I had a discussion with a Payplan representative and he said that even wage earning children should contribute !
His arguement was that the solvent householders have "benefitted" from the debt and, so, should contribute to its repayment.
I must point out that this was an on forum discussion (on a different IVA forum) and with only one Payplan representative, whose stance might not have been representative of the company ethos. Interestingly I was banned from posting on that forum shortly thereafter.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Thank you for your time and help with my question.
What has been said about other family members benefitting from the debt is a fair point but in this instance wouldn't apply as my debts originate from before we were married. They were accumulated as a result of my previous relationship breaking down.
If I could prove this (which I can) would it be a fair challange that it is unreasonable?
Another issue we have is at no point was this highlighted before we entered into the IVA. All documentation sent to us we have kept and can prove it was not mentioned.
Surely this is poor practice as this would have had a strong influence for me not to enter into the IVA considering it was increased to 6 years compared to the usual 5.
I really am starting to feel a sense of unfairness to the point that I'm considering it is a deliberate action not to highlight this until the IVA's are effectively completed and it is too late.
I'm guessing there is a regulating authourity to ensure correct IVA practice. Would other members suggest I would be wasting my time if I considered taking things further?
This is difficult and was probably not mentioned because you were both entering IVAs, so a moot point at the time.
To complain you have to go through Payplans internal complaints process first and then, if not satisfied, escalate to their regulators via the Government Gateway.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
I don't think its fair that your income should be taken into account.
Perhaps you can run the argument on a pro-rata basis instead. I.e if you earn say 600% of the total household income then you would be responsible for 60% of the expenditure etc and your husband 40% form his income.
Have you considered what difference this will make to the contributions?
Thank you Lisa for your suggestion as that is what we assumed would have happened as well. Having said that we were even a little more pessimistic and thought they would split the living costs 50/50 regardless.
I understand you are a licensed IP specialist so we are heartened by your views that there may be a little unfairness with the situation we find ourselves in.
I guess the starting point is to write to Payplan and request a copy of the guidelines as to how they reach the financial arrangement (assuming there is one).
If this isn't received then I guess I will commence a complaint through their internal complaints procedure.
Having thought about why I am getting annoyed isn't the decision as such but the lack of information and the difficulty in getting clarity as to how these things are decided.
I agree I'm afraid you will need to get everything done formally in writing with your IP to get the answer so you can take up a formally complaint in due course if necessary.
I know from other IVAs the usuaul stance is that the non insolvenct partner does not have any duty to disclose their financial info to the Supervisor and in those cases the Supervisor simply assumes the IVA debtor pays for 50% of the household expenditure.
Perhaps once your partner has her CC she can refuse to cooperate. But that will also depend on how quickly she gets her CC...
Well done, I didn't think of that. I would assume my IVA is legally binding to me and not my wife. If I didn't know how much she earnt then I couldn't tell them could I....!!!!!
I guess all they could do is extrapolate from what the wifes final review stated she had as income for her 5th year.
Without her permission that would be a breach of the data protection act as you do not have interlocking iva's.
Simply because a company holds information that could help them does mean that they can actually access or use it.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
You're welcome - best of luck with it - suggest your wife keeps the pressure on the IP to close her IVA asap so she no longer has a duty to cooperate or provide information.
