www.iva.co.uk

Hi all.I am currently about two years into my iva of debt amounting to £19,000 and have been making monthly payments of £300. Up until July of 2008 i was working as a full time receptionist with take home pay of £940.I left to pursue a career in the airline industry and took on a a more casual job meantime ( with the same wage ). Bad timing as nearly all airlines have stopped recruiting due to financial uncertatnty. I have continued with this other job however the amount of work coming through has severly dropped and for the last 3 months have been making half payments as my wages have been half what they normally are. All of my ''money breaks'' have been used ( for a car that i had six months then wrote off due to a crash ). So basically job wise i am working but struggling to live and pay the half payments. Transport quite sparce in my area and serious lack of ''unskilled'' jobs going. Where do i go from now ? I am 28, live with parents ( paying them £200 rent ), no assetts, no car.Would appreciate any advice.

Hi and welcome.

You obviously are not going to be able to contine making half payments to your IVA as you will be falling way behind.

Have you thought about letting it fail and possibly going bankrupt? That way you could start again with a clean sheet.

Hi
Speak with your IP and see what they have to say.
Bankruptcy may be your best option as you have no assets to protect
Regards

Good advice from Kallis and Andy - there is no point in struggling to pay an unaffordable sum for ever if your circumstances have changed to reduce your income.

A fresh start might be the right way forward for you to focus on your career without the burden of unaffordable debt.

Is there any new employment on the horizon ? Have you thought about a total change of direction and possibly going into teaching ? There are loads of opportunities at present wishing to train as teachers and they earn relatively good money from the outset.
As the others have said, if prospects aren't good then maybe bankruptcy is right for you - are your parents aware of the financial situation you are in - could they offer any support in the interim ???
Whatever you decide to do - good luck - the forum will be hear for you !

A full and frank discussion with your parents is a must - could they forego the monies you are paying them? You also need to discuss matters with your IP. If a new job is not foreseeable on the horizon soon then maybe bankruptcy (as others have advised) is appropriate - this will wipe the slate clean. Good luck.

Even if her parents were willing to forgo the board money, then it will take a while to catch up with the payments and the work she has may dry up.

I would certainly recommend looking at bankruptcy as it would appear to be the best way forward.

Hi,
I might not be able to advise you much on this situation, but just wanted to say you have come to the right place for advice, the people on this forum are brilliant..... and everyone here is here to support you....

All the best....keep going, you will get through it!

James x

Thank you all for your advice so far. Unfortuneately mt parents are not in a great finacial position themselves so they would not be able to help me and not paying my rent would cause them problems too. Bankruptcy is something i had thought about although i am not quite up to date on the process and what would be the advantages and disadvantages to going down that route. Sounds like first of all i need to talk with my ip but what do i say ? Will he try and discourage me from going bankcrupt ? Will i start getting letters and phone calls again from my creditors ? Again, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Elle,

Carry on paying your parents as it's not fair on them. Bankruptcy does not carry such a stigma these days. It will cost you £495 at court. You will be discharged in 12 months usually, sometimes less. You may be expected to make payments (usually called an IPA) for 3 years, depending on what your disposable income is after your normal expenses.

The BR will remain on your credit file for 6 years.

Speak to your IP and tell them you can no longer sustain the payments to your IVA and you want them to fail it so that you can go bankrupt. If you stop making the payments it will fail anyway in three months and you can use the money you have saved towards your fees.

Hi Elle, I agree with Kallis - keep paying your parents as it's not fair to them if you don't.

I went BR after my IVA failed, and Kallis is right, there isn't the stigma there used to be. If you have more than £100 disposable income a month you will be expected to pay a percentage into an IPA (Income Payment Agreement) for 36 months.

Good luck with speaking to your IP, and please let us know how you get on x

Both Kallis3 and Skippy13 are right - whilst bankruptcy does carry a stigma it is not as bad as it was. After reviewing what you have said I believe you should inform your IP straight away and start the bankruptcy process. Good luck and let us all know how you get on.

Thank you. Just got a few questions before i do so. When i call my ip do i ask him about brankruptcy or do i tell him that is what i have decided and why ? Will i start to get threatening calls and letters from my creditors again ? Lastly, my next half payent is due on the 15th of January, do i say that i want to stop payments to start to save for the bankcruptcy ?

Your IP ought to be able to answer most of your questions about bankruptcy proceedings, and if you have decided on this course of action you ought to discuss this with him/her in any case.

You should not get any correspondence from creditors whilst the IVA is still in place, which I assume will happen until you file for bankruptcy. If you are going to file, your IP will be used to a client stopping payments to fund the Court costs.

If that is what you have decided then I would just tell them that you are going BR as you can no longer afford the IVA payments and that you will not be making any more. I don't know if they will fail it straight away, but once it is failed, then your creditors will start hassling you again.

You can file for bankruptcy yourself. The forms can be filled in online.

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/

That site will tell you everything you need to know.