Has anyone ever regretted going into an IVA?

[Billythekid]

i thought an iva was supposed to save your home, not mine...

[cat 1]

I don't regret my IVA in principle.Like other, I regret not being fully aware of my options and the implications.It's a fantastic tool.My regret is not finding this site and making informed choices.I'm with company I didn't choose and are causing so much stress because of thier lack of communication that it's becoming nearly as pre occupying as my origional realising I'm in the '**** 'situation:<

[Julie]

I'm glad in a way I'm not the only one who wishes they had done it differently, as sometimes I feel stupid for rushing into it with the first company that came along. Especially when in all other areas in my life I'm more careful, yet for such a huge decision I took someone's word for it [:(]

Never mind, like others I have learnt and yes I do regret it. I don't see regret as being negative. Regret to me means I can accept I could have done it differently and move on, without dwelling on it.

[MelanieGiles]

Which firm are you with Cat?

[kabby3]

When I took out my IVA June 2005 there were not that many companies out there I am with Freemans Jones and to date thet have been very good. It only more recently I have really enjoyed this forum and if it was around or I had discovered earlier then I would have probably not panicked as much!!

[Skippy]

I agree with you Julie. Like you I went with the first company I found (the same one I think [:(]) and I so wish I had researched everything properly.

[louisa.s]

I have to say we have never regretted our IVA just the fact that perhaps we should have taken our head out of the sand a little earlier. We are now almost 3 years down the line of making payments and it was the best think we could have done as we now have budgeting and money management skills - neither of which we had before - not the easiest of rides but the rollercoaster has had more ups than downs and we even got married!!!

But as the others mention - best to research your provider first.

Lou x

[lost]

tough one part of me says yes and no i went into an iva nearly 3 years ago the same time that my good friend went BR he was discharged the xmas of the same year and i am still soldiering on with the iva i dont know who the winner is he is happy in council accomodation i do have the house but he has had a much better living since he was discharged and doesnt need to budget and scrimp like me and i still have 2+ more years to go

i cant see too many positives for the iva when i compare myself with him this is my opinion especially when you see a lot ov iva`s running for 72 months now[V]

[jane.l]

I would have definitely regretted it if we had gone with the IVA, I am so glad we changed our minds and went bankrupt, we are in a good position now, both got ED, no IPA, got a nice council house and all money we earn is ours to keep, no scrimping. I could not face the thought of 6 years in the IVA, no way

[Endsmeet]

Hmmm, don't know how I feel about this one.
I 'regret' getting myself into the position where I had to consider an IVA, I 'regret' not telling any member of my family and close friends as it gets harder to tell them the more deep into my IVA I get but actually regretting entering an IVA....???

I touched lucky as I went with the 1st company also but it turned out to be a good one, I'm not one of those people who require my I.P. to be in touch 24/7 and she doesn't....but she is there when I need her and had no problems at all so no regrets there.

I think what the scary thing for me is not knowing about the future...post IVA, will I be able to get an affordable mortgage, will I be able to get credit on the odd occasion when I need it , will I be accepted to pay things on a monthly agreement?
A couple of yrs ago 'IVA' was a dirty word but now because of the current climate is an 'acceptable' word, all very well as more people understand our situation but as more people become insolvent, will it become more difficult for post IVA'ers to get important things like a mortgage etc?

I think that that my be my only regret, if I find it hard to get normal things like a mortgage etc because of my IVA history

[lost]

yes i agree now after 31 months of paying this iva my wife is depressed and all really because we didnt want to let people down or see our name in the paper yes we own a house but after all it is bricks and mortar and maybe something to leave the kids when we pop our clogs and i think iva`s when you have kids is much more stressfull they need much more i have 4 when your an adult you can get by on fresh air till payday its not the case with kids

all i would say is think long and hard before you make your decision we all need out quick when were up to our necks in it and go for the first option

[kallis3]

I quite agree lost. You are like a lot of other people who will take any lifeline thrown at them when in this position. I never looked around before selecting my company, but fortunately so far I have had no problems. You are so desperate, don't know which way to turn and someone offers you a way out.

A lot of us did this - we never found this forum until it was too late.

I always say to anyone hovering, just reading the posts - make sure that you go into this with open eyes. Five years is a long time to be stuck in a one sided marriage.

[animaleyes76]

I defintely regretted it at one point.

I also regretted not being informed enough not to pay an intermediary £800 for sorting it.. No contingency for me as a result.

It's all a bit demoralising at times.. For instance I could get a contract role and double my salary but id lose most of it.. so where's the incentive.

But then i remember it's my own fault and i have a duty to do my best for both me and my creditors.

It's a lonely place to be in an iva sometimes when you cant do the things your frineds do.. But at least you know that in a set period of time you will be debt free whereas your friends will probably be near the point you were 5 years before. That's why this forum is so good.

I have days where i REALLY feel like saying ".... it" i will go bankrupt. But it would be stupid after 2 years in as my credit record would be wrecked and i reckon id def get an IPO on the basis that i could afford it but gave up the chance.

2 years 11 months to go.. I can't wait.

I agree with endsmeet re mortgages . .that would be a soul destroying thing to happen

[freelili]

If I am honest I dont care about the creditors, they perhaps should have known I was over committed, they didnt exactly twist my arm to to sign on the dotted line but they constantly phoned me up wanting me to have more. They also put my credit card limit up without me asking. I didnt have store cards but how often do you get battered to take them out, even now in this climate. Its all very well when youre paying without a problem as I did for years and years, they got the interest out of me and I didnt ever complain about paying it. As soon as you cant pay anymore, they treat you like a criminal, like you dont derserve to be breathing, sadly sometimes it happens that people would rather not live with it all and they take their own lives.

I am not saying you should borrow money and run, none of us ever wanted to do that but it does seem to me sometimes its all a bit one sided and the guilt is laid well and trully on us the debtors to 'pay back as much as possible' I do believe that they would get better treatment if they gave a little bit more, allowed people with ever changing needs of children to live without shame and worry, after all its not their fault. Take some of the responsiblity for lending so much.

If I lent some money to someone, I would kind of want to know if they could pay it back. I certainly wouldnt lend them anymore until I had the first lot back. I certainly wouldnt throw it at them either. Even if I did stand to gain £xxxxxx in interest payments.

Just my opinion though.

[Breakdown]

I agree with Lili, the amount of credit card cheques that we were sent was unbelivable, at least 2 lots a week! And they did put our limits up without asking, temptation is a terrible thing, and we were only human.

I know we spent the money, no one forced us to, but we have now realised that we could not afford to pay it all back in this lifetime, so we took the first step by seeking out an iva.

The nasty letters we get now are piling on the fines, they dropped the limit immediately, then charged us for being over the new limit!
I want to pay the money back, but I don't feel sorry for the banks and credit card companies, they are greedy.