www.iva.co.uk

I am currently pondering whether to take out an IVA I have roughly £24000 worth of unsecured debt,I have lost my shift work and am losing £9000 per year,I cant see myself ever getting that salary back,we have an overdraft and numerous accounts with Lloyds TSB,the overdrawn account is in joint names but we have individual ones,would we have to close every account we have withthem as my wife gets the child benefit-tax credits which covers childcare cost into hers?can you pull out of an IVA if you came into money in the future and decided to pay the amount back?what would happen if you wanted to take out a new mortgage product,would you automatically be declined?

Hi and welcome to the forum! That's a lot of questions and you need to speak to a professional for free and impartial advice-www.iva.com is a good place to start with a list of firms and customer reviews. As long as you have some disposable income to offer creditors an iva could be appropriate. Your other half would become solely responsible for any joint debts if you entered an iva but could also seek a debt solution. If your current accounts are with creditors then you will need to open new accounts however there is no reason why your benefits cannot be transferred. You cannot pull out of the iva if you come into money - this would be fraudulent! You are highly unlikely to get a mortgage while in an or for a few years after..but realistically, could you get a mortgage now or have the savings for a deposit? Do speak to the professionals as the sooner you get your debts under control the sooner you can buy a house!

If you wanted to use money you came into to pay off your creditors you could do that via your IVA.

At the moment you would not be able to get a mortgage whilst in an IVA.

Hi Neil
Welcome from me too. Personally I opened a new bank account as soon as I thought an IVA might be viable for me and the week I spoke to an IP I changed over all my direct debits and standing orders and income payments. I know that you can get your tax credit and child benefit changed to be paid into another account just by phoning one of them, they will pass the new account details onto the other party for you too. The link that Broke gave you is an excellent starting point and the advice is free and non judgemental, so just pick up the phone in the morning and you will have all your questions answered and establish the best way forward for your individual circumstances. Do let us know how you get on.

If you inherit money whilst you are in an IVA, this is treated as a windfall and you would need to introduce sufficient of that to pay off the creditors in full and the costs of the IVA which had accrued to date.

I would have a chat with an insolvency practitioner, who can explain all of the options to you to enable you to eventually make the right decision for the future.

Are all your debts with Lloyds, or if not what sort of percentage are we talking about? If it is a high one, then they may prefer you to speak to them directly to come to a solution rather than instigate formal Insolvency proceedings.

Regards.

Thaks for all your replies,here is my story
up untill 6 months ago I was earning good money and had managable loan of £278/month and two credit cards of which the repayments I could handle,then the carpet was pulled from under my feet,a salary reduction,£500 a month down, so in a nutshell I could not keep up repayments,I now have debt collection agencies threatening to have a charging order put on my house if not sending the bailifs round,so I need help fast,before the weekend if possible

Sorry I am Neil ts who made the origional post

Neil - you should contact an insolvency practitioner who will definitely be able to help you by the weekend - at least to understand more about the options available to you

Hi
Debt collection agencies quite often threaten Bailiffs/charging orders/attchment of earnings but none of the above can be obtained without first obtaing a CCJ against you. It is a common scare tactic to make you pay.
Speak with several experts/companies and discuss all the options that are available to you
Regards

Neil, if you haven't already, pick up the phone to the experts who will be able to help you - the sooner you call the sooner you will get help and know where you stand.

There are excellent companies recommended on here and reviews to read on www.iva.com

regards,

The above advice is all good. If you would like a mortgage at some point in the future then realistically you would be looking more towards an IVA than Bankruptcy, but even if you choose an IVA you would be lucky to get a mortgage in the current financial climate. Give it a couple of years and see if things pick up!

There are an awful lot of factors in play and speaking to a few IPs really is the best thing you can do at this stage.

Thanks all for your advice,I have had a company contact me and am waiting for a chat with the IP,I have two payments to make on Tuesday which I could do without but one of the collection agencies said they would have to pass it on to their bailiff for a home visit,do they have to get a CCJ before they can send a bailiff round?
What I am hoping to do is speak to the IP before the weekend,get the reference number of them so when I cant pay tuesday and the collections companies ring me I can hold them off for a while untill the IVA is sorted.The wife is very sceptical though and doesnt want to change banks etc but in my situation I need less stress and worry and some form of financial stability

Neil try to take the advice of 2 or 3 companies before making that final decision to ensure you get case sepecific impartial advice.

I'll leave this bumped up for one of the experts to comment on. x

It won't be a bailiff that calls round, just a debt collector and they can do nothing. You don't have to pay them anything at all and you probably won't even get a visit. It's just scare tactics. You do not have to make any payments.

If your bank is one of your creditors then you do need to change accounts as soon as possible. Until the IVA is approved they can take out your money to offset against their debt.