www.iva.co.uk

Hi All,

This is my first post, I have read a fair bit of the forum, obviously not all of it as there is so much useful information, so please excuse any questions which may come across as silly.

I have been in a DMP for about 4 months, it was arranged via stepchange, initial advice was to do an IVA but to be honest it all seemed a bit scary at that point and I needed some time to digest and research it before committing to one, so opted for the DMP instead. This is working okay but the time to clear debts on this route is excessively long.

In the interim I have researched IVA's a bit more and am now ready to embark on the journey.

What I would like is a genuine recommendation of anyone who has arranged and/or been in one and been happy with the initial service and the ongoing service during the term of the IVA and the annual reviews etc.

My partner and I will both be needing to do this, but I understand there is no such thing as a joint IVA (hence the name) but they can be processed presented together ?

We have never had PPI, so I don't want to be harassed by some company trying to ram this down our throats. (I have heard GT are very bad for this).

we have about 7 creditors, I work, partner does not (looking after 2 young children). No assets or savings or property(2 cars worth very little).

My wages are variable each month, i get a basic salary but then also monthly allowances on top, which can vary incredibly, along with overtime. I have spoken to one IP who suggests using an average salary figure, however there will be months when there is no overtime or allowances which could make things tight, however other months when I will get more and suggestion was to put extra in an account and at the end of the year that extra is used to pay the lower months to pay the average and any extra send in accordance with the 10% & 50/50 rule, but what if I had very little O/T or allowances for reasons out of my control or sickness and only got my basic ? I also read in one topic that the extra had to be sent within 14 days of pay date receipt, is that IVA specific or a general rule ? Has anyone any experience of such a scenario or recommendation on how best handled ?

all the debt is unsecured debt (credit card companies).

If you can offer a personal recommendation then please do let me know, likewise if there are any firms you would steer clear of too.

I have all my supporting documentation ready to go in a zip file and get the ball rolling fast, just need to decide on which IP/firm

Thanks

sorry forgot to add, one of our creditors is current bank account so we are in the process of opening coop accounts, 2 x individual ones and a joint one and having salary redirected to there. Is there anything else anyone can recommend doing in advance ?

You seem to have done most of the prep work and a fair bit of research. The new bank accounts are vital and good that you are doing that straightaway.

You and your partner can do interlocking IVAs or separate IVAs but the process is effectively the same. It really depends on what the debts are and whether you both can maintain individual agreements or not.

Your wages can be treated however you wish. Protocol IVAs are set in stone but non protocol proposals can be tailored to individual cases and the 10% 50/50 rule can be applied on an annual basis rather than a monthly one. This is not ususual and good months can offset bad months with the balance paid at the end of the year. This leaves you in charge rather than the IP and you are not under major pressure in a bad month.

Whichever IP you use will need to look at the PPI issue but if you complete the forms and send them back that should be the end of it. I have never had PPI myself but must have received 100 calls telling me I was due a rebate. Leave any PPI reclaim to the claims management company and it can quickly be dealt with without any cost to you.

Best of luck with the proposal.

Hi Michael,

thanks for replying. I have put a call in to your firm to discuss the case, I was told you're in a meeting so have left a message.

Regarding annual review, I am reading a lot about income and expenditure and I'm looking for a bit of clarity on this.

What happens if come the annual review you have had a marginal payrise on your basic wage half way through the term e.g. inflation 2% would this be covered by the 10% rule or does that only apply to overtime ? I assume the 10% is relative to take home pay ?

In the same period what if your bills had gone up by 3%? (I cant imagine my council tax going up by only 2-3% in April).

what does the annual review actually consist of ?

Is it look to see what extra revenue you receved over the course of the year above agreed payments and establish how much is due using 10,50/50 and then set the budget/payments for the next year going forward ?

How does winfall clause work ? for example if you had an amazing overtime month would this be classed as a windfall month or again only at the end of the year and no immediate payment due, so long as one sets aside the correct amount at the end of each month ? e.g. an annual bonus payment or a stellar overtime month ?

Reading the other thread about some firm classing savings as a revenue stream seems nuts, how does one budget for incidentals in that case, the burst tyre, the exhaust going etc.

sorry about all the questions

We went with a company called Cleardebt and found them to be excellent from initial call to sending completion certificate within a couple of monyhs of final payments.

There gave been updated protocols since we took out our iva so I wouldn't want to comment on ovettime etc.

We were allowed payment breaks, reduced payments and had a 15% reduction in payment from year 2 to cover a car payment.

Call a few companies and see who you think is good. We had a gut feeling with Cleardebt and I would whole heartedly recommend them.