Thankyou for all your help so far everyone but i have yet another question. My husband is forces and so he cannot go bankrupt so an iva is our only option i feel. He has mess bills to pay every month a bill which is charged through work which he has to pay (otherwise he can get charged, i.e in serious trouble for not paying it and it can hinder his career).
They are about £75 a month (i know its a joke!) but will an ip let us still allow for this. There really is no way he can not pay it, especially for 5 yrs!
I have no idea but Mel is ex-forces I believe so if she's on here later she'll be able to advise. Although saying that, if it's deducted from his wage and he has to pay it I would hazard a guess that they would allow it.
I am sure Mel will be on later and she is excellent with the forces as she is ex forces herself as kazza says.
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
In my day they were deducted from source, so you should be ok as I believe IVA is worked out on net salary. That said, I'm new to this so I may be wrong.
No they are not deducted before he gets his wage, he gets a bill in his hand he has to take to the finance office to pay. So he has to pay it out of his take home pay each month. That would be brill if mel could advise! Hopefully she will be along later!
I'm sure she will be - there aren't many nights she's not on here.
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
just to assure you my iva company allow us £90 a month for mess bills, so don't worry, yes they do let u have a allowance for this. i am having trouble with the constant EXTRA money needed for army compulsary functions not included in the mess bill ie...drinks in the mess,curry nights, which are COMPULSORY in the army.Also money needed for surplus army kit, babysitters (when i have to attend the functions as a army wife - looks bad if i don't attend!!), etc etc.. just goes on and on. army life is not a normal life, so any help here or guidance would be appreciated. I would be careful when taking IVA that they consider all this extra money needed.
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
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
Yeah it is very hard and im constantly left on my own to deal with the debt letters etc as my husband goes way for months on end. I think our mess bills are £75 a month this includes the battery bill aswell. we have been avoiding non compulsary functions as we just cannot afford it, and with the ones we have to go to we stick to soft drinks as they are cheaper!
We havent told anyone we are planning an iva as im still quite ashamed about how we got ourselves into this situation in the first place! Most of our debts were brought in from previous relationships and have been amounting for years. I feel an iva is our only way to be free from it one day!
I have sent an email to Mel to ask her to look at this.
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
You'll be very surprised by the amount of colleagues that are in iva's and even some that are bankrupt (how they managed that without getting kicked out amazes us) It is not something talked about in military life normally but there are plenty of us out there, so don't be ashamed we all mess up sometimes.
We had to stop the majority of socialising and have been very careful about who knows we are in an Iva, some people class it as a security risk - in my eyes the people who don't seek help would be more of a riskbut only if they had moral issues too!
Being on your own is not easy, debts are a hassle that you can do without. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
It's been a long road getting from there to here but it's been worth it!
Hi there Kate - ah mess bills I remember them so well!
Rest assured that they are fully allowable in an IVA. I know from first hand experience what a heinous crime non-payment of a mess bill actually is - and how expensive some messes are. When my hubbie was an instructor at Sandhurst, his bill was nearly £200 per month and that was years ago!
Military life is very different to civilian life - socialising is mandatory, and very important for those people chasing a career path. Being ex-forces myself, and from a family of forces personnel on both mine and my husband's side, I fully understand the pressures you guys are now under - particularly when the money you earn in Germany can be almost twice as much as you might earn in the UK due to LOA and other allowances. This all has to be factored into a more flexible IVA, and of course I do act for a lot of forces clients.
I had some clients who were stationed in Norway when they entered into their IVA, and they had to have household expenditure of 3 times the levels they required in the UK because the cost of living is so expensive, and of course if your husband is posted on an unaccompanied tour then you may incur additional childcare costs if you go out to work, or if you have to spend more on travelling.
I would get some professional advice soonest about all of your options - and if your hubbie is nearing the end of his service make sure that his gratuity and resettlement allowances are completely ringfenced from creditors. You will need that money to restablish yourself in a civilian environment, and that does not come cheaply if you have lived in quarters all your married life.
Best of luck with everything and let us know how you get on.
