My advice is as my old gran you to say you need to 'cut your coat according to your cloth' meaning don't spend more than you can afford.
If you can not get a mortgage for a few years become the banks best friend and save every month - this will show them you have spare cash - I dont' think we will see house prices jumping to the rates they did in the boom years again for a long time.
But then interestingly I was looking at the house prices around my area and in the boom years the prices had trebled in value from their values in 2002 - now they are around double the value oh the prices in 2002 meaning lots of people out there have 'negative equity'
True they are different but my issue is whether an IVA is there to help the customer or really just to ensure the banks get some money back?
The only reason to choose an IVA these days really is if you work in the financial or legal sector if if your company does credit checks before the employ staff otherwise I feel going bankcrupt is the 'customers best option.
On a personel note I have records of every credit / loan agreement I ever had and have been through these recently to check exactly how much I borrowed over the years and how much extra was added in interest and PPL:
when I entered my IVA I has around 21k debt
5k of that is PPI (payment protection insurance cover)
5k was interest on my loan
So that 11k I borrowed before all of this and the loan was to consolidate my debts on previous credit card balance of which at least half of that was incurred by interest alone over the years ( paying the min payment back each month on the card)
This just shows you how having a few credit card balances that total a few thousand pounds can spiral out of control in the cause of a few years if you make the mistakes I did.
I try not to think about it now too much but I can not help but think the banks duped me into this situation and they should give people trying to pay back their debts at least a chance of a normal credit life again and the hope of a future mortgage with them.
To a certain extent you are correct Greenback. Yes the banks were falling over themselves to give money away (and then the credit card companies hiked up the interest rates). However, we have all got to face our own responsibilies in our borrowing and spending.
I agree that the banks should give us a fairer deal. OK we messed up -- but have shown that we can stick to a 5 year deal, making regular payments, and, having been through 5 years of financial re-training, we are probably a better bet than many of their customers.
The other point to consider is that the banks themselves have had their own little glitch lately and were bailed out -- yet still carry on as if nothing has gone awry. Personally, I think we are on the financial high ground here !
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Yes you are quite right we all have to take some blame I agree but I remember when I took out my last loan for instance how I worried when my application through another lender was rejected at first - I then applied with a previous lender I had borrowed from who stated the would give me what I wanted only if I took out the nearly £4000 pounds extra PPI on my loan.
I remember feeling so helpless that I took their offer and this put me in a bad situation that I paid for later as we know.
I expect nothing from the banks now.
On another different topic while I am here I did not realise until very recently that your IVA record could be viwed by anyway by simply typing Insolvency Register in google wow:
Now my main conerns with this are when you do this yourself you can view the record and it states your full name / date of birth / address / Contact number for your IP and your case officers name!
Ok that is bad enough until you consider how easy somebody could call you IP and pretend to be you.
I wont mention my IP but if you call and don't know your case reference number they ask for your date of birth and first line of address which can easy be found on the register via google!
If someone wanted to get more info they could register for ancestry.co.uk on a 30 day free trial and then find your birth record which will also contain your mothers maiden name.
From this they can match records of marriages from your surname and mothers maiden name meaning the now have:
Your full name
DOB
Last address
Mothers Maiden name
Names of mother and father
Do you see the potential ramifications of all this regarding 'data protection' and someone using your identity fraudulently?
I have been interested to read all of the comments on this thread. The bottom line is that you do not start an IVA unles you are in a position where you cannot repay your debt. If you are in that position you pretty much have three choices. An informal debt management plan, and IVA or bankruptcy (DRO if your debt is less than £15k).
If you go the DMP route, your credit rating will be poor at least until your have repaid all of your debt in full which could well be many years. If you do an IVA, your credit rating will be poor for at least 6 years which is exacly the same as in bankrutpcy. If as Greenback71 suggests, the banks refuse you credit past this, I would be pretty sure that exactly the same would happen if you go bankrupt.
Having said all that, if you are in a position where u are unable to repay your debt, you have to do something. Choosing the right solution will be based on many different factors. Not just whether you will be able to borrow again once you are debt free.
I am glad if I have made you think before you enter an IVA - you know the main reason I did not even consider a bankruptcy before I applied for the IVA?
Well let me tell you why - it was the shame! bankruptcy has a ring about that makes you feel a loser the lowest of the low in some ways but I have come to realise that it does not matter whether you are in a DMP / IVA or Bankruptcy the banks treat you exactly the same when it comes to obtaining credit.
If you don't own your own home and job job does not require a credit vet then I would go for bankcruptcy if you want to pay less and pay over less time.
The days of an IVA or DMP being classed as any better than a bankcrupt are I feel sadly over and the only winners are the banks again so remember look after your own interests and remember no offence to the IP's and bank members that offer advice on this site but due to your own professions it is hard for you not to favour the industry you work in.
My entry on the register has my IP's details but not my case officer. I can't see why on earth anyone would want to contact the IP and pretend to be me!!!
If anyone gets my details and tries to impersonate me to get credit - good luck to them!
I keep a keen eye on things and once the IVA is completed will be registering with CIFAS again so there will be little chance of identity fraud.
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
While I agree gaining credit would be pointless this situation it does not stop a company phishing for info or maybe a future employer phishing for info just look at how facebook has turned into a tool for employers to vet future employees.
It is still in my eyes a clear DPA breach allowing such info to be free to view to anyone who chooses.
Quite agree Ginger - unless you are to be credit checked then no boss has any need to look at the register, and I doubt many of them know of it's existence.
If I google my name it comes up with all sorts of people, none of them relate to me!
It is there by law and Andy Davie got up a petition a couple of years ago to get it removed from public view and it was turned down.
Even if were made a 'paid for' service, any criminals who wanted to get info could do so for a fee.
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
If you are not a home owner, you do not own a car valued above £1500 and your job is not affected, then I agree with you Greenback, going bankruptcy may certainly be the fastest and potentially cheapest way to deal with your debt. I have conversations along those lines with the people I work with every day. However that does not mean they all go bankrupt. Ultimatley the debt solution you choose will often boil down to personal choice. The key is understanding the pros and cons of each solution and making the informed decision that is best for you personally.
