www.iva.co.uk

Hi all,

Heard from Accuma today re: trying to have the repayments reduced . They are questioning our expenditure on clothing & mileage!! I have told them (again) that the clothing allowance includes drycleaning which is a must for us. As far as the mileage goes, it is what it is, we have submitted the actual mileage that we use for work purposes. We haven't included any domestic use.

I have been advised that the creditors will probably not accept this revised proposal. I was asked if we could stretch ourselves a bit more - but I refuse to put us in that position again. If the creditors refuse then hubby will have to declare himself BR.

I have requested a face to face meeting with the IP, I believe as we are paying him for a service we are entitled to meet him.

I'll let you know the outcome.

xx

Hey Julie, how can they question mileage? And if you need work clothes dry cleaned then that should be allowed, it's not like you're asking for a holiday or christmas fund! I do hope they sort this out for you, it would be a shame that hubby would need to go BR because they couldn't help. You should definitely be able to have that face to face meeting too so fingers crossed you hear soon. X

Hi

If you can verify your expenses and they are truely needed then you are right in sticking to your guns. You should only pay what you can afford to.

Provide Accuma with a routeplanner from your home to work to show the mielage and also advise them of the petrol consumption for your car. It is a very simple calculation to work out how much petrol you go through each week. Also if you need to wear suits for work then it stands to reason that they will need to be dry cleaned on a regular basis. A few dry cleaning receipts should provide evidence of this.

Quite frankly, I think that your creditors would be unreasonable to accept a revised offer where the increases in expenditure can be justified and evidenced.

With regards your last comment, your IP is under a positive duty to meet with you face to face if you request it. If he refused it would not go down well with his regulatory body.

Good luck, have my fingers crossed for you. You are nearly half way there and it would be a shame for your arrangement to fail at this stage. I really cannot see your creditors wanting it to fail either.

Hi Julie,

I really hope you manage to get it all sorted,would be such a shame for your hubby to go BR at this stage,will keep my fingers crossed for you and hope you manage to meet face to face, I'm sure that will help as well.[:)]...Good Luck..xx

Thanks everyone - we're hoping not to have to go BR but we know we've done our best.

We both have to wear suits for work so drycleaning is a must. I can't rememeber the last time we bought new suits so its not as if we've been extravagant.

I will send a map router to prove our mileage, better still I'll offer to take the IP on a guided tour [:D]

Hopefully the creditors will see sense even if the IP cant.

xx

Julie, I hope you both manage to get this sorted soon. Of course you need your suit cleaned, and you need to travel to work and back.
It's also wrong of them to ask you to stretch yourselves further.

I hope, when you have a meeting with them, that you convince them of all this. It's in no ones interests to force you into BR at this stage of your IVA.

Good luck

You stick to your guns.. if thats your best offer then you go for it!!

Julie-I do hope you manage to get this sorted out,you must be at the end of your tether with it all.I too would be requesting a face to face meeting as i can imagine how upsetting and frustrating it must be for you both..Thinking of you.Take care[:)]xxx

Hi Julie,

I have brought this to the attention of one of the IP's at Accuma who has said that he will have a look at it for you.

Good luck and regards.

Thanks everyone and size 5 - I'd be grateful if your contact will see some way forwrd for us.

I am absolutely fuming with Accuma. I received a call from them today. They will put the variation forward but they do not think it will be accepted and they want us to pay 700+vat upfront!!

I'm sorry but I did blow my top with the assistant - why / how do they think I am going to find that money from and give it to them for something they do not think will pass anyway????

Yet again I explained the clothes allowance is £40 each plus £20 each for drycleaning. This is not a fantasy figure but factual figure of drycleaning costs.

Also I cannot reduce the mileage.

The £552 that we have said we can pay into the IVA is the absolute maximum, I cannot do anymore. I am sitting in tears here as I type I am so frustrated.

I told the assistant I will no longer speak to anyone other than the IP about this. I then fired an email of to the IP ( Matthew Colbourne Frayne). He has emailed back, apologising for not giving this his full attention as he is being inspected at the moment....I'd love to talk to his inspector!!!

In his email he STILL challenges the drycleaning and mileage. He's going to call us on Friday to discuss.

Hopefully with size 5's intervention something positive will happen.

Julie, I'm so sorry, they shouldn't have you in tears, that's awful. Hopefully Size5's word in the ear may help you. Good luck for Friday and I hope you get your face to face meeting. X

Hope it all goes okay for you.

Not meaning to hijack this thread but I was interested in something you said, especially as I am with Accuma as well.

Is it normal for the fees for a variation to be paid upfront? I had a mini variation very early on in my IVA and they just added to my IVA. I might be needing another one so i hope that they aren't goign to expect me to now find £700+ vat.. Would seem crazy cos then id be behind in payments to do the variation..

Mad

Julie, This must be so frustrating for you,try not to get upset,hopefully with size5's intervention,something positive will happen for you on Friday...Good Luck hun,will be thinking of you,big hugs..xx

Just a suggestion - why not buy a suit from your clothing allowance that are machine washable - there are lots of them available these days and good old Asda George and Tesco suits are fantastic and wear well.....only a suggestion that way dry cleaning won't become such an issue.

Mileage is mileage at the end of the day and shouldn't be challeneged !

lulu - no offence but the quality of the suits at those places and the amount of washing would mean replacing them. So false economy....

Any ideas welcome though [:)]

thanyou xx