www.iva.co.uk

After fighting with spiralling debts for eight years, I finally had to admit that I can't pay them. My debts came about because of a stupendously unaffordable mortgage with that ultimate 'responsible' lender, Northern Rock. Now locked into a zero equity non-competitive government owned mortgage and a top up with Firstplus (worst mistake of my life!)

Tomorrow, I will have that dreaded phone call with an IP from Stepchange.

I've spent a week on sick leave due to stress, trawling over and over the budgets and having "how did I ever survive this long" moments. Let's hope it'll all be over and I'll be on my way to sorting things out tomorrow.

Good luck Oily. Might I suggest that you speak to a few other companies as well as StepChange as it is important to find a company you can work well with and who will work for you.

You can find listings on www.iva.com or, alternatively, have a look around the forum for clues as to which firms do well and which don't seem to.

You could do a lot worse than Melanie Giles' company...I've been on this forum for over 3 years and people who have an IVA with them invariably get looked after really well.

Hi and welcome to the forum. First step taken to acknowledge a debt problem, good advice above to speak to 2 if not 3 or more companies to ensure case specific impartial advice. All the best and you're a member of a fab forum here now so do keep in touch.

The hardest part id admitting there is a problem. Good luck with your path to becoming debt free and welcome to the forum

I doubt if you will speak to an IP from Stepchange as I think they only have one yet tens of thousands of clients. You should also seek advice from the independent sector before you commit to using Stepchange.

OK, thanks for the advice. I won't be making a decision today. I will look around first.

Hi, I have just finished my IVA, best decision of my life. Good luck!

You need to get some advice from at least 3 firms. Iva.com has hundreds of reviews.

An iva is not an easy option-

But an iva will stop any creditors biting at your ankles.

The budget will be strict.after your essential living expenses have been worked out- all of your disposable income will go into the iva.

No luxuries- ie holidays ( birthdays & xmas were never part of our budget either)if you have a flashy Car on finance that might have to go back.

But having said all that being in debt is what it is & it is a reasonable way to pay back what you can afford.

I hope it all works out for you ,,deciding to take some sort of action is the first step!

Hi Oilybits

Speaking from experience I wish I had found this forum before I entered into my IVA, I must admit haven't had too many problems with firm I am with, just a few niggles, but having found the forum I would have probably contacted Melanies Giles, she and her team have really good and positive feedback on forum, and from what I can see Melanie spends a lot of time on the forum replying to all queries not just her clients.
Good luck with IVA, think of it as a 5 or 6 year loan. On the First Plus loan, we went down this road too, did you have PPI with them, can honestly say in their favour they contacted us and from letter from them to pay out from them took only 2 months.