www.iva.co.uk

Hi,
I have debt amounting to around 45,000 (not including the mortgage), which includes Credit Cards and Loans (1 taken out with the house as some form of insurance I think). I receive income support and am currently maintaining payments on all. But it is virtually becoming impossible with mounting interest being added on all. Even though payments are being made, the credit cards due amount is not being lowered at all. Would an IVA be something I could consider?

Have a chat with an IP and give him all of your circumstances both debt and income and value of your house and mortgage details. Visit www.iva.com for reviews on IP's and speak to one or two of them. An IVA might be an appropriate solution but you need to give all facts before a reccomendation will be made to you. Let us know how you get on.

Hi Steve, just like to welcome you along to the forum.

A chat with any of our professional experts will advise you as to all the options open to you, and the advice is free. You can then decide which is the best way open to you.

If your only income is from income support, an IVA is unlikely to be a sensible way forward for you - and I wonder just how you are managing to service any sort of debt repayments on £45k worth of debt and also cover your usual household expenditure.

How much equity (if any) do you currently have in your property?

I have to agree with Melanie, unless you have sufficient equity in your property to repay your debt, then you will never pay it back.

Bankruptcy would be a typical soloution, unless you have additional income/assets that could repay your unsecured loans and credit.

Hope you dont mind me joining this thread, but I have exactly the same amount of debt, 45k excluding mortgage.
Approx 2/3rd of this is an unsecured load I took out with the mortgage(I had a 125% mortgage), the rest being another loan and a credit card.
After I have made repayments and with other outgoings I have barely over £200 a month to live on.
I have no way of realistically ever paying off the debt in its entirity.
I think an IVA would be the ebst option for me, could I ask the forum experts for their opinion please?

Hi and welcome.

The £200 you have left - is this disposable income, or do you have to have to pay normal household bills with this?

It works out at about £230 to buy food/drink, household stuff etc. and a social life ie. playing football once a week, nights out with friends and travelling to see family.
In the past I have just used loan/credit card to supplement this but I am up to my limits now with no further options available to me.

Thankyou all for your kind replies.
In response to some of the points raised: I do have a mortgage of £60,000 and house is worth around 90,000. I already have a debt consolidation loan of around 28,000 taken out 2 years ago (on the house). As well as benefits (income support, DLA, incapacity benefit) I also have a pension. I am maintaining payments on all but at a huge cost! Endowment policy has been cancelled and decent food and clothing for my family is at a premium. I must be honest, bankruptcy sounds frightening.

Firstly to answer Ian, an IVA could be a solution for you, but you will not be able to have a full social life as you are at the moment - I'm not saying you have to lock yourself away for 5 years, but you won't be able to do as much as you do now.

I would give www.iva.com a list and ring one or two companies who are listed on there. They will go through all the options available to you and give you advice.

Steve - bankruptcy is not as frightening as you think. Visit the blogs and read Skippy13's journey through bankruptcy. It sounds as though your house is probably in negative equity, so you may well be able to keep that.

Visit this site:

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

which will explain everything about BR.

Hi Kallis, thansk for your reply.
I dont really have a full social life - it basically consists of playing football once a week, and a night out at the weekend. Plus a weekend back home to visit family every month ro two. I have not had a "proper" holiday in 9 years.
Without getting too personal - my social life (as it is now) and seeing family is all i really have (Im single, with an unfulfilling job that I cant leave because of the salary), so I cant envisage giving this up without psychological repurcussions.
I thought the IVA would be the best way to go, but if it means an extremely limited soical life then perhaps bankruptcy is the answer?
I have a meeting at CAB to discuss an IVA tomorrow, and will also look at more infomration on this site.

Bankruptcy could be a way forward for you. You have no assets and could be discharged in about 12 months. You would have to pay an IPA for 3 years though.

Nothing against CAB, but they are not debt specialists. I would recommend that you give one or two of the experts who post on here a ring - they specialise in this and would be able to give you an idea of what would be best for you.

If you click on the expert link on the left hand side of the page here, there are several professional experts who post on here, and their contact details are on there as well.

Thanks again Kallis, I will definitely speak to one of the experts.
Just quickly though, whats an IPA?
And wouldnt my flat be an asset? I would lose this, and would rather avoid that, which was why I thought an IVA would be better than bankruptcy?

Sorry, had forgotten about your flat! Is there any equity in it? If not, then you would probably not lose it.

An IPA is an income payment agreement. Any disposable income over £100 per month, I believe you have to pay 70% of that across.

No there is no equity in my flat.

IPA = giving over 70% of disposable income over £100? I'd be in a worse situation than I am now.

Doesnt look as though theres any solution for me that would enable me to enjoy a basic social life, which is very depressing bearing in mind my circumstances.