www.iva.co.uk

Hi, newbie here! Intro and question about off-setting.

I'm new to the forum, although I have been trawling the website for several months (which is fantastic by the way) and im about to embark on my IVA journey (I hope).

I have been in touch with a couple of companies and have yet to make a choice of who to go with. I am in my late 20's and have been living at my parents for a while now and trying to pay off some of my debt as to be honest I had my head in the sand. This is still not helping much as the interest/monthly payments are creeping up and I have been taking from peter to pay paul......so not good! I have decided to do something about it, hence an IVA. I have opened a new bank account with the Co-op and they have let me have a new saver account also which is great (They come highly recommended on this forum i see).

My question is about off-seting. My old bank account was with Barclays which is not really an issue as I only had my overdraft debt with them (and have moved to new bank account that isn't linked to my creditors), however because I am now with my parents again, my mum has her bank account with Nationwide which are one of my biggest creditors (£15,000 unsecured personal loan), would there be any way they would be able to off-set my debts with her account? She has pretty much most of her savings with them. The account is NOT a joint account and her account only......just a little worried as living at same address with same surname etc!!

Many thanks

Hi and welcome to the forum. Seems like you're getting yourself sorted!

Your mums account will be fine - if there are no joint finances with her then they won't touch her account.

Thanks for the quick response kallis3

Am I right in thinking that they couldn't and wouldn't be allowed by law to do this as I am not linked to her bank account in any way, even if we live at the same address etc? I pay her rent pcm but am not linked to mortgage or anything. Also me being in an IVA, would my parents have problems getting credit in the future?

Just a bit paranoid about this as I dont want it to affect them!

They cannot use your mum's accounts to set off your debts. Try not to worry too much. You've made a great start already xx

Your Mum's bank accounts are completely ringfenced from your debts, so worry no more on that front - and best of luck with your IVA application - I am glad to see that you have been taking some time to consider this option before taking the plunge. Always better to be fully prepared and perhaps to have a little in savings behind you before the payments begin.