www.iva.co.uk

Hi,

My name is Emma, I have just registered in order to get some advise.

I have been in my IVA for 9 months now, I pay £150 per month and am keeping up with my payments ok, so far!

Last week i received a letter from IVA Debtline based in Poole in Dorset, saying that i was potentially in the wrong arrangement. Out of curiosity i have called them and had a lengthy discussion with one of their employees.

I have been told that an IVA is mainly for people wanting to protect their assetts eg a business, and that as i dont have anything to protect that i would be betterr suited to bankrupcy. I did strongly consider bankrupcy when i looked into sorting out my debt problem, and sometimes i wish i had done.

The Debtline told me that the first two years of my payments are going solely to the IVA company and is not paying off my debt. He said that the loans, credit cards etc have insurances that cover bad debtors and that they would have got their money back by now. The money that i am paying is apparently pure profit to my IVA company

I have been told that if i decided to go with this debtline company, their fees are £170 per month, then when i go to court it costs £525 court fees, but once that is done its done, apart from being on the register for 12 months.

My plans are to move in with my partner in about ten months time, and i'm worried that my IVA company will then want to take my partners money to be paid into my IVA as well, please can anyone clarify if this is the case?

If anyone can answer any of my questions, i would be grateful, as i'm a bit confused as to what the best thing to do is.

Thanks
Emma

Are you having any problems with your IVA ? - if so you need to speak to your IP direct.

Did the company mention the possible 3 years payment order that may be awarded against you in bankruptcy or the Bankruptcy will show for a further 6 years on your credit report?

Hi Emma,
First of all stay away from these people and give them nothing. If bankruptcy is the correct option you can do it yourself for £700 but this would have been discussed with you at the time the IVA was proposed.

If you go bankrupt you could find yourself with a three year income payments order of £150 or even more which when added to the nine months IVA payments and the fees to this shower means you could even be worse off.

If your partner moves in he may make some contribution to bills which could free up some extra funds for the IVA but his income would not be taken into account.

If in doubt speak to your own IP but not these people.

These companies trawl the Insolvency Register to get your details which is not good.

An IVA is for anyone - doesn't matter if you have a house or not. The only reason they want you to go into bankruptcy is so they can charge you a lot of money on top of the court fees.

If you are having problems then your IP is the first place you go to for help. Yes, the first year or so will go towards fees but the creditors have agreed to this. It is not profit, it is for the work the IP company are doing.

Court fees are £700 per month and the chances are that you will end up having to pay into the BR for three years if your disposable income is more than £20 per month so you'll be no better off.

As regards your partner moving in, all that will happen is that his income will be taken into account purely to make sure that you are both paying your fair share into the household finances.

I'm sure several other posters will be along to tell you exacgtly the same.

If you did want to go bankrupt then you can do it yourself without having to pay anyone.

Sorry Emma - welcome to the forum

Thanks folks. Youve confirmed my suspicions !

Michael-I would be moving in with my partner, who owns his own house and has a completely clear credit history. I would loose ALL of my current benefits , so my personal income will be quite a lot lower, i am assuming. It worries me that my partner will become responsible for my debt in some way.

Emma

So, do many people go bankrupt once theyve agreed into an IVA. If so, how does one go about doing this? Do you have to prove that you cannot pay into the IVA anymore ?

Emma

Emma - as long as you dont interlink bank account etc - you both will have completely seprate credit files - best wait till your IVA is finished before you get any joint finance

Hi Emma

If your circumstances change and you no longer have the £150 disposable income then bankruptcy may well be your best route. You would stop paying into the IVA, let it fail and then declare yourself bankrupt.
You case sounds straight forward so I doubt you will need any assistance from a third party to go down the bankruptcy route.

Do think very carefully about stopping your current IVA

Regards

Your income and expenditure account will be reviewed to see if you can afford anything. You will of course be allowed to make a contribution towards living expenses but if you feel you will have no money bankruptcy does seem the best option. You would have to stop paying the IVA and let it fail but this would allow you to save the £700 under protection of the IVA.

Thanks everyone....the advise has really helped. I have been pleased with my IVA company to date, although the thought of 5 whole years of payments is daunting especially when my circumstances will be changing soon (which wasnt on the cards!).

Emma

I'm sure your 'man' will stand by you Emma and support you through the 5 years, it does go quickly. IVA Debtline will not exist with this name under new government proposals, be assured the advise you got on here is sound and responsible. What you got from IVA Debtline was a money spinning exercise to see if you will part with your hard earned cash. If they contact you again just hang up.