www.iva.co.uk

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could possibly pass on a little help on what I could do...

My current situation is that I owe approx £27,000 (mainly due to buying a house that me and my ex could not afford about 4 years ago - so we bought and re-decorated the house on loans and credit cards then we split up!).

I managed to keep up my payments to my creditors until late last year when I relocated to another city to live with my new partner. I took a pay-drop from approx £23,000 in my old job to £14,000 and had to contact the CCCS for help. I am paying them £260 a month in a DMP but it is not even touching the outstanding balances.

I currently rent a house from my workplace and the rent is deducted directly from my wages, I live here with my partner. I pay the rent and she pays the bills - approx £500 each a month.

I recently earned a pay-rise and my basic is now £15,250. I also work to a monthly target which earns me £350 on top of my monthly basic but, this is not a reliable income amount (target has only been hit 5 times in the 10 months i have been there).

My main questions are:

1. When you have an IVA, do you pretty much have to call your social life "quits" due to all your spare cash going to the creditors?

2. I have read on the forum that the IVA takes 50% of the bonus - does this mean that the you keep the other 50% and do what you will with it?

3. I live quite a train distance away from my friends and family (a train ticket is £65) - is there any lee-way on this?

4. I have only been with my girlfriend for a year or so, so she has nothing to do with my debts, would an IVA stay completely away from her? (we do not have any joint bank accounts or financial ties)

5. I do not drive at this point in time but I will be getting driving lessons at Xmas and hope to start driving early next year - is an IVA able to be amended to include petrol, insurance, tax etc?

6. I am currently studying for my Ce-MAP, will an IVA affect my future in the financial services?

I am really sorry for the monologue but i'm really stressed and confused at the moment - my partner has no problems with debt at all and I'm hindering her from buying a house etc!!

ANY help whatsover would be really, really appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time.

Paul.

Hi DerbySaint and welcome to the forum

Turning to your specific pointds:

1 You have to recognise that lifestyle changes have to be made, but this does not mean that you put your life on hold for the five years - this would be unrealistic and in time you would tire of the sacrifices. So a modest housekeeping budget is provided which should allow some room for socialising but probably not on the levels you have previously enjoyed.

2 It is usual to be required to pay over 50% of your bonuses and you can do exactly what you like with the remainder! Have a social life for instance, but it is wise to put some of the money away for a rainy day.

3 Modest private travelling is allowed, depending upon how far this can be justified. A once a month trip would not seem unreasonable to visit family and friends in your home city.

4 Your partner's income would need to be taken into account in order to assess that you are both paying your fair share of the shared bills. It is usual for these to be shared on the same ratio as individual earnings.

5 If you can put up a business case for the driving lessons and costs of running a car, this may be acceptable but only if they are replacing current public transport costs. Perhaps you and your partner could share these costs as you are both likely to benefit from them.

6 You will need to check this out with the FSA and it will depend upon exactly what job you eventually look for.

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to post any more questions that you have on the forum.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

Thank you very much for the quick response Melanie.

I think my main concern with my partner is that she does not want to have anything to do with paying for my debts from the past and I would not want to "drag her down" by involving her.

If you could confirm that she would not be paying into my IVA and her credit would not be affected, she would be happy with that I believe.

Your partner does not need to be at all concerned about paying for debts that you incurred prior to your relationship - who would be happy with that!!

The need for her income details is just to ensure that you are both paying fair shares of combined houshehold expenditure - nothing more than that. I am sure that she will be happy to provide this if it means you find the right solution to put your debts behind you for good.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

Brilliant, thank you again for your help.

I feel better just having those questions answered!

I will have a think and be in touch soon.

Paul.

In answer to your question 6. whether an IVA would impact a job in the financial services industry.

I presume because you are studying Ce-MAP you will be seeking a position allowing you to give advice on regulated first charge mortgages and general insurance. The FSA handbook states that a person must have financial soundness to give advice

FIT 2.3 Financial soundness
FIT 2.3.1 In determining a person's financial soundness, the FSA will have regard to any factors including, but not limited to:
(1) whether the person has been the subject of any judgment debt or award, in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, that remains outstanding or was not satisfied within a reasonable period;

(2) whether, in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, the person has made any arrangements with his creditors, filed for bankruptcy, had a bankruptcy petition served on him, been adjudged bankrupt, been the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order (including an interim bankruptcy restrictions order), offered a bankruptcy restrictions undertaking, had assets sequestrated, or been involved in proceedings relating to any of these.

FIT 2.3.2 The FSA will not normally require the candidate to supply a statement of assets or liabilities. The fact that a person may be of limited financial means will not, in itself, affect his suitability to perform a controlled function.

An IVA will not stop you from taking an advisors job, but the firm employing you will have to be satisfactorily convinced that you are 'getting it sorted' and managing it correctly. If your IVA fails a firm is unlikely to employ you.

FREE ADVICE IS THE BEST ADVICE

LEYBRIDGE LIMITED
Mortgage Broker
Specialising in adverse credit.

see feedback and testimonials at:
http://www.leybridge.com/testimonial.php
Check out my blog at:
http://mikebdomain.blogs.iva.co.uk/
Please read our Initial Disclosure Document(IDD):
http://www.leybridge.com/Leybridge-IDD.pdf

Thanks for that info Mike, I have spoken to my employees recently and sre keeping them up-to-date with my position.

They said that I need to get my current financial situation sorted (when talking to them about getting a mortgage with my partner in the future) and I think they would give me the chance when (if!!!) I pass.

Thanks,

Paul.

Good luck

FREE ADVICE IS THE BEST ADVICE

LEYBRIDGE LIMITED
Mortgage Broker
Specialising in adverse credit.

see feedback and testimonials at:
http://www.leybridge.com/testimonial.php
Check out my blog at:
http://mikebdomain.blogs.iva.co.uk/
Please read our Initial Disclosure Document(IDD):
http://www.leybridge.com/Leybridge-IDD.pdf

Hello Paul,

If you are looking to appoint an IVA firm you may find www.IVA.com useful. We maintain a list of IVA firms and Insolvency Practitioners. We also publish client reviews of their services.

Good luck with everything.

Kind regards,
Terry Balfour
IVA.com

IVA.com - The IVA Comparison Site
100s of reviews, All IPs and IVA firms rated.

Use our IVA firm comparison tool to find best IVA firm for you:
http://www.iva.com/iva_comparison_1.asp