Having suffered unprecedented increases in just about everything this past year the 1st year of my IVA, coupled with the fact that I reluctantly agreed a modification to my IVA at the outset increasing it by around £120 per month, something I really regret now but at the time was petrified they would reject the iva if I didnt!
I have just asked my supervisor to consider a reduction in payments as I am now around £150 per month over my budget with no room to trim anything else...he has today replied saying that he has increased my wife & I's salary allowances so that we dont have to pay anything into the iva. Well I really dont see how that can help as we do not have any capacity for working overtime and our salary is fairly static apart from shift allowances and weekend working for my wife.
It was nice to note that no increases in our monthly payment were deemed necessary, which would have been out of the question anyway. Does anyone know if there creditors in general are looking into this situation, the financial situation is unprecedented and I have sent documentary evidence of all my increases to my supervisor but he still seems reluctant to do anything, so I am writing to him again but am not really sure what I can do.
Bearing in mind that the creditors have brought this situation on me really by asking for a modification which I thought at the time I could afford but because of all the various increases over the year I find I am unable to trim my budget much more and manage to live.
Anyone have any similar experiences?
Advice?
Thoughts?
Cheers FF
Hi
The problem that you have is that your IP can't ask for a variation in the first two years.
No help to you though
Could you ask for a one/two month break this year just to give you a head start ?
Regards
thanks for the suggestion.....
Do you know if this has actually been done by anyone before?
I am just wondering how it would be looked upon by the IP & creditors??
Hi
Very few IVAs go the full distance with no breaks/problems.
I was three months behind with mine at one point.
Creditors will only know at the annual review and will be guided by your IP.
Regards
There seems to be a lot of people who have accepted modifications that make their IVA very diificult, surely the IP should realise from experience that unrealistic modifications will only result in the IVA failing? maybe they only have eyes for the fees! I personally decided that I would accept no modifications & if neccessary go bankrupt. do you have to make a decision straight away on mods?
Hi - we accepted modifications and like many others wish we hadn't. Hubby was telephoned during the meeting and told if he didn't accept, the IVA would not have been accepted. Unfortunately, we were too desperate for a solution that we agreed. I suspect many others could tell the same story.
Interesting Andy, that you say a variation cannot be called within the first 2 years, we''re waiting for one and haven't completed the 2 years yet.
Is it set at 2years so IP get their fees? Not that I'm against IP's getting fees if they've put the work in you understand [:)]
Hi FF,
This topic worries me as I am at the first stages of my IVA. The way the cost of living is rising and commiting to a set budget is worrying me. My employer has recently done a pay and regrading review for all employees, unfortunately for me this meant a small reduction in pay and no increases for 3 years as I am at the top of my new pay scale. Also we rely on our tax credits which also decrease year on year ( come February ours drops by a third ). So when an IVA is being proposed does cost of living inreases get taken into consideration?
Your IP might be able to agree to a 15% reduction in your payments by simply allowing you to extend for up to a year to make up the difference. Any higher reduction would need the agreement of creditors at a newly convened creditors meeting.
When an IVA is proposed properly, Brickwall, you are provided with sufficient allowance to ensure that the payments are affordable - and you should not agree to any requests for higher payments from either your IP or the creditors if they are not affordable, otherwise you will just be kidding yourselves and the IVA will likely fail.
If your tax credits are likely to reduce during the IVA, and this is known at the outset, then your IP ought to build in a staggered reduction in the payments to accomodate this.
Julie, the 2 year no variation clause isn't in everyone's proposal. It was a modification to mine. Not sure if it's part of the new protocol though.
the meeting can be postponed for up to 2 weeks for you to accept any modifications but I don't think many people are told that at the time! I wasn't aware of it and felt I had to agree to everything there and then. Luckily there wasn't anything too drastic!
Pixie
'Welcome to where ever you are, this is your life you've made it this far, welcome, you've got to believe right here right now is exactly where you're meant to be'
IVA started may 07 ended dec 08
I felt at the time of the meeting that I was being pressured to accept the modification and was told that I could ask for the meeting to be adjourned to consider, but having had all the stress leading up to the meeting I was just grateful to get the iva accepted. having said that, I would have been able to cover that increase had the living costs and just about everything else not rocketed up during the year!!! It annoys me that had they not insisted on an increase I would not be in this position, what is the point in working out a buget which is affordable when they dont accept it and want more???
Andy has suggested I negotiate a break in payments for 1 or 2 months does anyone have experience of actually having done that??
Im just worried about defaulting on the IVA in any way, but as my IP either cannot try and reduce payments or wont Im not sure what to do for the best??
My initial IVA proposal was rejected and entering a DMP for 6 months then reapplying was suggested to me without any mention of the 14 day postponement period. Fortunately, through this board, which is invaluable, I knew about the 14 day period and 2 weeks later my IVA was accepted.
Hi Frequentflyer - just wanted to say we are over 2 years into our IVA and have had a 3 month payment break already and are now trying to gain another but having difficulties! Being self employed with heavily fluctuating disposable income makes it very hard for us to maintain regular payments.
Good luck- definately worth asking!
Thanks Scrooge....somehow its comforting to know there are others out there facing the same things as us!!
So is this 'payment' break quite common in IVAS??
Do you just write to your IP and suggest it as an option or what?
Obviously the IP has not as yet indicated to me that this is feasible so Im not sure if I should just go ahead and request one......any ideas anyone?
The payment break is not common, but you have to justify it to your IP, for instance i had to have my car repaired and ask for a month of, my IP said yes on 2 conditons, 1 sent the receipt to prove i had spent it, and number 2 i increased my payments for the rest of the year to make up the shortfall, but dont forget if this is allowed, you are only allowed to miss 3 payments in the whole of the five years of your IVA, or your IVA will fail
