www.iva.co.uk

I am currently serving in HM Armed forces and have around £43,000 pound in debts, comprising of Cards, loans and HP on top of this i have £15,000 secured on my house and a mortgage of around £115000 my income including my wife is around £3200.

with food fuel and council tax and the secured loan/mortgage my outgoings are around £2204 leaving around £996 to pay the 12c creditors around £43,000. I was trying to make an arrangment with egg to have a break and clear my overdraft to stop getting uneccesary charges unfortunately in the the confusion they defaulted me and effectively sold the debt to a company called direct legal and collections when i contacted egg, from operations and explained the situation they tried to revert it realising the error and the fact that i was away but found it was to late i am now with a company wanting £10,000 back as fast as possible and already threatening me that if it not paid within the year then an attachment of earnings order will be made.

I am not sure whether to take the plungand try to regain some sanity in my life. I feel weighed down by my debts, no good to my family and stuck on operations with no where to turn. if i approach the army i am frightened that i will lose my job but the threat of the company going to my employer is worrying me, Can they do this and would an IVA be the way forward. I want to pay my debts but i want to be able to feed my family and support them. I can't even see light at the end of the tunnel. I desperatley need some advice i am back in the UK for two weeks in soon and will be trying desperately to action this. Your advice would be most welcome.

Hi Claire
I cannot answer your question as to what is best but I would recomend speaking to Melanie Giles. Melanie has experience of the forces and will give excellent advice. You can email from the experts page or wait and I am sure she will answer you when she comes on. Ther is always some light and you are trying and i am sure will find solutions.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

An IVA might be possible, you certainly have good reasons for looking at one, but a bit more info is needed to give you a view.

Important questions to deal with straight away are

1 Is there any equity in your house at the moment?

2 Are the debts all yours or split between you and your wife in which case what is the split, roughly?

3 Your disposable income is on the high side, 60 payments (5years)at £1000, would pay off your debts in full, and then some. Are you sure you have taken all your necessary expenditure in to account in arriving at this amoun?

If you have too much disposable income an IVA wouldn't be the right route for you, in all liklihood, and you would be better dealing with the situation through a debt management plan. So assessing your disposable income is critical in making the right decision.

I speak as an Insolvency Practitioner, but also with 19 years service in the Royal Signals, so I know a bit about the Armed Forces!

If you have the ability to fund an IVA, and as Catullus has stated more information is needed, but ideally you need to take advice directly from an insolvency practitioner as to your options. The Army are getting more relaxed about insolvency, and an IVA does not have to be notified to your employer, but if you are working in an area which requires you to have DV, then you will need to declare this on your regular reviews.

My gut feeling is also that a properly managed Debt Management Programme might be your best option, but do be aware that these afford little protection from the actions of creditors who are intent on pursuing you.

If you are serving abroad, are you receiveing LSSA or any other form of allowances, which are not certain?

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp