Firstly I am a newbie on the forum so hello everyone. I am hoping that you guys can offer some advice on the predicament we (myself and wife) have gotten ourselves into!!!
Not too sure where to start or what questions I need to ask. We currently owe £60-£65,000 in loans, credit cards etc. This has built up over the years and we always felt we were in control of being able to make the repayments. However it is now getting impossible to manage and we are having to borrow from peter to pay paul....
We are homeowners, although have limited equity in the house, so this is not an option to clear the debts. We have two children.
I have searched this forum on several occasions and have been taken back by the support and friendliness of the members for people who are in the same situations as ourselves. We are now at a point where we need to do something (stop burying our heads in the sand) and wondered if anyone could point us in the right direction of where to start. I have read about IVA's and feel this would be the right path for us, but will appreciate your expertise and advice.
One question I do have is, Is it possible to do a joint IVA (myself and my wife) or would they treat the debts seperately (the debts is 2/3 mine and 1/3 my wifes...
Anyway, thats enough ramblings from me... Once again, I appreciate any help and advice you can give....
Hello I too am new to the forum and will be making my first call next week, my sister has been through the process and come out the other side, she was the one that told me about this place. I belive that she was able to combine the IVA but I don't know how it works, its a similar question for me next week too.
There's loads of help on this place and I've only been a full active member since mid week. Good luck to you
I am also new to all this and just starting my journey, I have 2 appointments next week with different organisations to discuss my options.
I too have buried my head in the sand for too long and once I made that first call felt a little positive in the knowledge that I am trying to do something about my situation.
If you haven't already check out the information/links on the left of this page plenty of good advice in there.
The members of this forum are very friendly and helpful with plenty of good sound advice, stick around as I intend to.
Firstly why not take a look at www.iva.com you will find a list of companies and reviews of these. Always ensure you take case specific advice from 2 or 3 to ensure impartial advice is received.
You've taken the first steps. Interlocking IVA's as I have with my husband can be arranged and can be explained better by a professional much better than I can.
We are a supportive forum so please do keep posting x
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free future.
Welcome, you have made the biggest step and spotted the problem and you know where you are, i remember the anxiety and relief when i sat down and worked out my debts!
Best to contact a few companies to discuss what the next steps are or the route to take that is best, myself i contacted the CCCS, who were very rapid and quickly got me in touch with an IVA company, wish you all the best contacting the professionals and getting on the road out of debt.
welcome from me aswell,it is a slow process sorting out a iva/bankruptcy if appropiate.8 to 16 weeks is about the norm depending how complex your case is.so it is important to get good advice and information from the outset from a few avenues as stated above.most good companies offer free advice and dont charge to help set up a iva upto acceptance.then any fees are included in your repayments which will be calculated from your disposable income.if both partners have debts in there name then a interlocking iva can be done so all debts are included.an ip will be able to explain how this works so you are totally debt free after the term is completed.i contacted national debtline at first and they sent me out information packs on debt management plans/iva,s,and bankruptcy,i spent a week or so reading through my options before i made my first contact with a iva company.my iva is complete now so i know what you are going through but try to stay calm there will be a option to sort your debts out,so good luck and stick around.the information and help you will get from this forum is invaluable.
I do recommend that you visit the link provided by Lesley.
Alternatively you could click on the experts link on the left hand side of the page. They post on here and come highly recommended.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Welcome to the forum. You have done the hard bit just opening your eyes to the debts(I too was in full control,or so I thought!!).
Contact a couple of companies from the web address listed and see what they come up with as solutions. If you have any other questions just keep 'em coming!
Paul
Discharged today the 8th feb 2012. View is much brighter now.
Continuing to rebuild our credit worthiness.
Welcome to you all, feel free to ask as many questions as you need to, the experts here are superb and will help as much as they can.
I have an interlocking IVA with hubby, we only pay one monthly payment and it covers both our debts, out income is assessed jointly and the payment was worked out on our household disposable income.
If life is what you make it, I must have been in a strange mood when I made mine
This is a great place to start. The next step is to speak to a professional and sort out exactly what solution best suits your circumstances. You are well on the way to putting you debts behind you so good luck and keep in touch!
Strange how different debt situations are treated. Hubby has joint debts with me, I have a few seperate ones but we have totally seperate IVAs. Our I&E is assessed together though.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Hi Out_of_Depth
I was in the same predicament as you. About 80k of of debt - split between myself and my wife. None of it was just in my wifes name, either joint (loans, and od's) or credit cards (in my name only). We entered into an arrangement together and all debts in one pot with a joint I & E. We are not 2½ years into it and counting down the days to completeion.
Hi again, firstly a big thanks to everyone for all your messages of support. It is greatly appreciated...
Now for the first of the many questions I am likely to post over the coming weeks/months.
We are at the point now, where the telephone calls are starting from the CC companies. What is the best way to handle these. Should we doo our best to ignore them, or should advise them that we are unable to pay them? Would you recommend trying to pay a token amount/Does this stop them calling so often? We are doing our best to pay the loans etc, but can no longer make the full CC payments.
I have been looking at IVA.com and intend to call a couple of the companies to start the ball rolling. For this initial call what information do I need to have to hand? Do I need to have all the details of our income and expenditure as well as what I owe and to who. I want to make sure that I have the information they require before making the calls.
We have opened a new bank account already and intend to move our wages to this account from next month. Is there anything else we need to do or think about?
Once again appreciate all your support and advice. It is amazing just being able to discuss this with people without being judged.
Hi Out of Depth - the calls will get worse look at the forum and there plenty of posts of how to deal with them - we unplugged the bt phone and just used the mobile until it stopped - or just answer tell them you are arranging an IVA and will be in touch - then put the phone down! - they all want some payment and it would be a waste of money.
Your I & E is crucial include everything!! - use the cccs figures as a guidline - remember you have to live it for the next 5/6 years so take your time get this wrong and you will regret it down the line.
But an IVA worked for us we had over a 100K worth of debt - take your time and choose your company carefully!
