www.iva.co.uk

Please help!! I have a debt for over 50k. This started as a personal loan of £13,500 but the interest has mounted up and now i need to consider an IVA. Can anyone offer advice? I live with my partner who knows nothing of this.

Hi and welcome.

Is this an unsecured debt? Is it the only debt you have? If so, you wouldn't be able to do an IVA as you need two or three creditors with at least three lines of credit.

If you have no assets, you could consider bankruptcy, or negotiate lower payments with your creditor.

Yes, this is an unsecured debt. I do have two smaller ones at £1000 each also and have equity in a house. I have asked my loan company numerous times for a statement but they have choosen to ignore me for 5 years now. The cab couldn't even get them to freeze the interest so its amounting now to a hefty sum. Are there high costs involved in getting an iva set up?

Hi
Speak with several companies, they will be able to advise on the best route for you, IVA, DMP, or bankruptcy.
The best advice that I can give you is to confide in your partner, you will be suprised at how understanding and supportive they can be.
If you do have only the one debt then your first port of call will be to approach the lender to see if you can work out a way forward.
Regards

The only problem I can see is that this creditor, being your major one, could say no to an IVA. I am surprised that they are ignoring you if you have not been paying, or paying very little.

I would suggest that you need to speak to an Insolvency Practitioner, you can either visit www.iva.com for a list of companies, or visit the expert link on the left hand side of the page here. All the professionals there come highly recommended.

Give one of them a call and they will explain all of your options to you and advise as to the best way forward. The advice is free.

Does Bankruptcy or IVA means losing the house?

With an IVA, you won't lose your house, but will probably be expected to release some equity in the 4th year. With bankruptcy, it all depends on whether there is equity or not, and how much.

As a matter of interest, who is your largest creditor?

Paragon personal finance,although the loan was taken out as Universal credit who were taken over by paragon.

I don't know how they are with IVA's, but I do recommend that you speak to a professional, they can give you much better advice than I can.

Thank you for your help. I WILL get this sorted. Watch this space.

The professionals do post on here, and one of them will probably be along soon.

I hope you don't think I was fobbing you off, I wasn't, and I hope you manage to get something sorted out.

With such a large debt with one company, and only minor other debts, it is quite likely that the creditor would prefer you to enter into a repayment agreement with them directly rather than something more formal. I suggest that you approach them directly to see what they can suggest.