I have been in my agreement now for 1 year however am now earning slightly more and am in a better position. Is it possible or even common for people to cancel their agreement and then continue to pay their creditors the full amount over a fixed time?
When I entered into my agreement I was out of work and had been for a while however I would feel much better dealing with the creditors myself and paying back the full amount owed.
Whilst I appreciate time and effort was spent by them in setting up the arrangement, I sometimes find my supervisors pushy and unhelpful and can't help but feel I am wasting money paying them when I can now afford to pay back my creditors in full.
Any advise you could offer me would be greatly appreciated.
I can see that there may be some benefit in this - in that you would save on supervisory fees, but this will enable creditors to start charging you interest again. The IVA is a contract which can be broken, but I personally cannot see much benefit in you going it aone.
Which firm are you with - and have you discussed your concerns about the IP's staff with them directly?
I am with a company called Varden Nuttall. This is not something I have discussed with them yet as I wanted an outside unbiased opinion.
One of the main reasons I have thought about doing this as at the time of taking out my agreement, I was in no situation to pay any of my creditors and was advised this was my best option before bankruptsy. And going bankrupt was not an option I wanted to take.
However now, whilst I am well aware that come my annual review, if they believe I am able to take more they will ask that I do so, it concerns me that come the end of my agreement I will have nothing put aside and the option to save for things such as a mortgage will be near on impossible.
What I am also asking is, say that for example I begun to earn £200 extra a month after starting a new job, is this whole amount taken? Or will I need to produce a new expenditure form before my IVA takes more from me?
brooke195 it's great that you can afford to repay your creditors and deal with them yourself. My only concern would be stepping out from underneath your IP's umbrella, however, if they are not very good with you or your unhappy with them then I suppose that may not be a bad thing.
Good luck.
I came into this world with nothing and still have most of it left!
If you start a new job you may not be as well off as you may think. There will be travel costs, meals at work, extra clothing and drycleaning costs etc. You should only have to pay over 50% of any surplus left after these costs so you would have monies to put by. However, check with your IP beforehand as he/she would know your file and the exact conditions demanded by creditors.
Your credit file is damaged for six years regardless of what you decide to do now so it may be best to remain in your IVA knowing that you will be debt clear in 4four years and a year after that you will have a clean credit file.
The fact that you will have no savings at the end of an IVA, is regrettably a hazard of borrowing money that you cannot afford to repay, and having the privilege of such process in the meantime.
I think that you should just up the payments you make to your IVA. As others have said, you will be back to square one, the creditors will be charging interest and your credit record will still be shot for 6 years.
Think long and hard about it - you could be making a big mistake.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Thank you all for your responses. I agree it would be best to stick to it and lump it. A year has already gone by so hopefully it will continue to go smoothly.
One query i do have is when and if I earn more each year, are things such as travel expenses taken into account? Only whilst I now earn an extra £175, my petrol costs me £160 a month whereas my previous job was cheap bus ride away. I spoke with the lady who deals with my IVA last night and she said she believes only an increase in rent and council tax is taken into place. I don't understand how that can be deemed fair as surely I need to have my car to get to work and ear the money in the first place?
I have written out a list of my spendings and provided proof where I can such as insurance, a letter from my landlord stating how much I pay etc and will send this in with my pay slips.
And one other thing I forgot to ask with regards to savings. I was talking more about having contingency money aside i.e. if my car breaks down, an unexpected bill comes in. Surely these every day things need to be accounted for ? Not everyone has the privilege of being able to fall back on someone and borrow money.
Hi Brooke. You are entitled to list your expenses and it is ludicrous for your case worker to say she cannot take the tracvel costs into account. You are also entitled to list any cost of living increases and include expenses not previously listed such as contingencies. If you are not satisfied with your case worker demand to speak to the IP and if that does not happen send him/her an email. It should work out fine.
This morning I have been speaking with the man who is dealing with my income review and he has also helped to advise how the monthly payment will be worked out. He has also confirmed that increased expenditure IS taken into account so it is looking like I may have worried for nothing. ALthough all I can do now is send off my forms and info and await a response.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Further to my last post I am yet to receive a response from my income review. However, in the mean time I have received 2 letters from 2 separate creditors stating how much they have received since the arrangement began. Now one has received approx £17 and the other £78. Considering I pay £213 into my arrangement per month and have been for over a year I think this is an outrage! And says to me I would be better paying off the creditors myself. Regardless of the fact it will still tarnish my credit rating for 6 years, at least morally I am paying back what is owed.
Not sure exactly how it works, but your creditors are possibly receiving payments pro rata.
Mine received nothing back at all in the first twelve months. I will be quite happy at the end of the term knowing they will receive at least the dividend originally agreed and I will have done my best to pay them back.
If you dealt with the creditors yourself, there is no guarantee that they would have stopped interest and charges.
The first year is nearly always taken up with IP fees.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Your creditors have agreed to the proposal and know exactly how the process works and how and when they get paid. You do not need to worry and as Jan says the amounts repaid will increase as the fees will have been paid from the first contributions.
