www.iva.co.uk

Hi

I am in an IVA at the moment which is going fine, but I have an eye exam today as my eyes are playing up and I see that the majority of glasses are around the 100 to 150 mark (and thats the cheap end), now most months I pay extra to my iva through commisions earned etc...would I get any relief for one month to help with this purchase as without it i cant buy them??

Many Thanks in advance

I can't help you on your particular question but my IP (Melanie Giles) put in an allowance for me as I suffer from glaucoma; I would have thought that if you needed regular eye examination and glasses then an allowance should have been given for that. I should, if I were you, have a word with your IP without delay. Something should be able to be done for you without causing too much of a hic-cup

Hi,

I am sure you would be able to arrange a payment break to pay for your glasses with no problem.

Give your IP a call on Monday and explain things to them.

Hi
I am sure that if you spoke to your IP that they will assist you.
I presume hat you pay 50% of your commission into your IVA each month, would your share that you keep be enough to fund the glasses ?
Regards

I have never really suffered with my eyes so this is fairly new.

I obviously have allowences to cover dental etc but eyes i have no idea???

its certainly not going to be a regular thing more a one off.... and again thats only if I actually need them!!!

Just trying to get things clear so I know where I stand!

Thanks again!!!

Hi Andy

Yes I have a 10% clause then pay 50% of anything over that amount.

The commission this month alone should be in the region of £200...which is almost as much as the IVA payment

Hi
It could be that your IP will allow you to keep all your commission and to use that to pay for your glasses. They may ask you to pay your full commission over in the following month
Regards

I'm in the same position, had eye test in May and need glasses, script is pinned on the wall in the kitchen, hubby got eye test next Saturday and he will need a new script, he also has an estimate for £445 of dental work. My IP is aware and as soon as I have all estimates in I'm going to contact her with a way forward as she does know how valuable our health is. Hope your IP is sympathetic to you too x

Don't forget that you don't have to get the glasses from the same optician that does your eye test. I get my glasses from Specsavers and they are reasonably priced (the most expensive are £125) and they often do 2 for 1 offers.

It might also be worth having a look at a website like Glasses Direct where you can order glasses online quite cheaply.

The price will also depend on your prescription though Skip. Before my laser surgery, I needed varifocals and I used to have photochromic as well, so that bumps up the price.

I hadn't thought about that - I'm short sighted with an astigmatism so I've got a 'normal' prescription!

Dave's got varifocals now and I really can't understand how he gets on with them - he's always moving his head and it would annoy me!

I had no problem with them at all. I suppose you get used to moving your head about!

My wife had to get new glasses a few months ago. Our optician has an interest-free payment plan over 10 months which overcame the problem. I don't know how common this is but well worth investigating

I take it you had no problem with getting the credit?

Jan - you know I never even thought of it as credit!!! We have both used the same optician for years and have bought specs on their never-never plan before so I'm sure there was no credit checking involved.

You've got me thinking now as we have a similar arrangement for car insurance which is also a kind of credit agreement - are we breaking the rules????