www.iva.co.uk

Down in the dumps! After being told today by IP I can't have a savings account or have a holiday any funds I have free needs to be paid into my IVA even if my car breaks down I have to ring them to inform them of how much the repair will cost etc etc. Argh I can't believe it my belief has dropped I am gutted, if my car broke down and needed repairing I wanted to have savings to pay for it, I don't want to miss a payment here and there. I didn't go on the IVA to suit my finiancal needs I went for an IVA to please my creditors which has also helped me!!!

Hi

Who are you with as what you've said sounds a bit extreme?

I don't see why you can't have a savings account and how would they know?

I thought you could do what you liked with any form of surplus.

You should have an allowance for car stuff anyway.

Can you not withdraw money every week and give to a family member to save?

Sorry but this sounds incorrect. Any money you save from your share of your allowances are yours to do what you wish with. If you choose to squirrel them away and use it at xmas, birthdays or towards a little holiday then that is up to you. Afterall if your allowances have been set correctly it will only be a few pounds each month not hundreds !
I would ask your IP not your caseworker to show you where it says in your agreement that any money left from your allowances each month needs to be paid across!
As to showing receipts for things - i would always retain the receipts for large purchases such as garage bills in case you have to ask for additional support if something goes wrong.

This seems rather extreme,you can still save your money just hide it under the mattress so to speak,in February and March we didn't pay council or water rates so we saved this money in an account attached to our current account with our bank

That's what I was told yesterday, I do think it's slightly unfair. I don't own a house and only pay rent to parents but have other bills of course like car insurance etc. So I am bound to have spare cash in their eyes and they are wanting me to pay it into the IVA.

I have to agree with the other posts, I have money set aside from my allowances to pay for things like my 6 monthly water rates or like you say car repairs. Last month my heater plugs needed replacing so that was £50 I just wasn't expecting, if I hadn't this money set aside I would have struggled. The car is due for MOT in the next few weeks, so I'm trying to be prepared by cutting back on house shop in the coming weeks just in case, but it will be a minimal saving, even so a saving we are allowed from our allowances.

It might be a trainee or someone who isn't au fait with these things. I shouldn't worry and I am sure Michael will pick up on this.

As I mentioned on the other thread this was a case of crossed wires. We not only permit but we actively encourage our clients to save their allowances but we cannot make an allowance on an income and expenditure form for savings or holiday in their own right. Creditors would ask for this money but if you can save money from your allowances you are perfectly able to spend that money as you see fit.

Ok no worries that makes sense so basically my food etc allowance is 250 ish per month if I had any left after the month and I got all the food I needed I could put the rest into my savings pot. But any earnings left after my allowance's, d/d payments need to be paid towards IVA.

What happens in regards to Christmas shopping etc? Should I be taking this out my allowances and cutting down?

What you could do is what I do - online surveys which pay lots of points and I save them up and get vouchers each year which pays for Christmas. Too late for this year but it is worth it.

You will be able to save up from any allowances you don't use.

Basically your IVA payments are set at whatever level they are and your allowances are there for you to spend as you see fit. We do not ask for bank statements to check where you shop or how much you spend on your teeth. These are allowances given to everyone and some spend more on other things than others.

There are also allowances for sports, hobbies, miscellaneous etc which you can save each month and use these towards whatever you like whether Christmas, birthdays or holidays. There is an allowance for meals at work and if you take a sandwich every day thereby saving a few pound this money is also yours.

Ultimately it is fine to save your own allowances and if this means you can then afford a holiday that is fine. However we cannot list a holiday or 'savings' on the income and expenditure as creditors will not allow either as an expense of the IVA.

Christmas shopping -- the extra expense of Christmas shopping should be funded by the savings you managed to make during the year and things like, as Kallis mentions, online survey vouchers ( many pay in high street vouchers) and store loyalty points.

This first Christmas will be a little tough as you haven't had time to get a "pot" going, but I used to get around £100 in High Street Vouchers and a little less in loyalty points.

Presents-wise, you get into the habit of buying them as and when they are on sale or offer throughout the year -- just needs a bit of planning

Ok that makes sense thanks a lot clearer now