why do so many IVA's seem to fail..?

[jpj]

By the time you have run up tens of thousands in debts I guess most have stopped reading the small print on agreements (if they didnt they would probably still be sitting in Comet,reading page 4 and trying to understand the credit agreement today!)

Skints IVA has not failed,partly because he read the contract and partly down to luck!...If skint had been made redundant and hadnt worked for a year, wouldnt his IVA have failed by now irrispective of wether he read the agreement or not??.

[Lisa2009]

Agreed jpj. Thankfully i have been pretty safe in my job. Others are not so lucky. Its such a shame when circumstances cause IVAs to fail.

[Skippy]

When I went into my IVA I was desperate, - I've not admitted this before - felt like doing something stupid. To be honest went to the first sympathetic ear I found, convinced myself there was no way I could go bankrupt and that an IVA was the only thing I could do. I was referred to an IP a couple of hundred miles away so a face to face interview wasn't really an option. When I received my proposal I read it through and questioned a couple of things on the I & E that I didn't agree with, but I was told that it didn't matter as long as the figures added up, which to be honest, they didn't. With hindsight (a wonderful thing) there was no way that I could have survived 5 years on the budget I had. On paper it looked ok, but living on it was a different matter.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[tracy.h]

Imagine finding out you have an iva that you never agreed to and didnt sign,and 7 months later even though it was failed its still on your credit file and used against you.
The reason i said no was because it was unrealistic and i did not want to loose my home.
B ut it was excepted on my behalf.
I agree yes there are a lot of genuine ip's out there but also a lot that s only interest is to line there own pockets at other peoples expense,and people who are desperate.

[iva experts]

I think there are alot of reasons why IVA's fail but two reasons that I have noticed on this forum are:

1. The individuals agree to an unrealistic month expenditure (sometimes out of fear that if they say no the IVA will not be accepted)

and

2. Little or failed communications with the I.P, people who hide things, dont tell the truth, have any extra creditor they havn't mentioned OR take advice that is incorrect. If you are truthful with your I.P and keep them in the loop even when a mistake has been made I believe alot less IVA's would fail.

Best Regards,
IVA Experts
http://www.iva-experts.co.uk/

[Adam Davies]

Hi
One point that Catullus and Melanie fail to understand,or seem to, is the desperation that people in debt feel and how blinkered thay are at the time.I agree with Skippy's point that most people will go with the first sympathetic ear that they come accross and whilst I do not have anytime,whatsoever for people "using" the IVA process as per Catullus's quote "I am sad to say, there seems to be a growing incidence of people signing proposals knowing them to be untrue or without having any intention of abiding by their commitments"I do not agree that debtors should have to know the ins and outs of the IVA process.A debtor should rely on an IP to draft a proposal without having to understand the finer points,afterall I do not expect to have to produce my own house sale contract,or to understand it,when selling my house because that's why I employ,and pay, a solicitor.
An IP has a duty to explain an IVA to his/her client and if the client is not interested in understanding the proposal or implications then the IP should not propose it.
Unrealistic expenditure is the main reason for failed IVAs,in my opinion,not ignorance.
Regards


Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[Lisa2009]

Anything seems worth a try after battling so long with debt. Thats how desperate it makes you feel.

[catullus]

Hello Andy

Dare I say it, I think that you are wrong.

I've been involved in insolvency for nearly 30 years and I can assure you that I (and I'm sure Melanie) thoroughly understand the desparation that people feel.But like a doctor, to deal with the issues arising you have to distance yourself from the emotion in order to remain objective.

I agree with you that many IVA's fail because of badly researched I&E's and often the IP has to bear a large part of the blame.

But my post was prompted by a week of dealing with people who had dishonestly entered IVA's by withholding critical information, people who had done absolutely nothing to assist the process or take any personal respomsibilty to get the IVA right or who, when in an IVA, chose to break every rule in the book.

My point was that there are some people (and I fear its a growing number) who never could be made to understand the process (whatever the IP does) and who appear to think that they have no moral responsibilty to abide by the commitments that they give.And when these people get found out their first reaction is to say "you never told me that" or "you've misled me" rather than to accept that they failed to do some pretty basic things like reading the proposal or telling the truth.

i do assuer you that this sort of thing is really quite common and indeed sometimes the odd infrequent poster pops up on this board with a tale of woe when, reading between the lines, its tempting to think that the fault probably lies at their door.

The characteristic of these posters is to file one (normally very short tale of woe) and then never to be heard of again refusing to answer the normally very valid and knowledgeable questions that the board will ask.

Again for the reasons I stated earlier I exempt pretty well anyone who reads this forum.

[kah]

If there are so many people "cheating" the system, maybe the relentless marketing of IVAs should be stopped. Television, press and magazine coverage does give a faulse impression of the IVA as some sort of jolly, acceptable and easy option. For most people this is not the case - it's a way of trying to do the best you can to repay as much as possible, carry on living and learn from your mistakes. If the IVA system is being abused - change the marketing to something a little more honest.

[Adam Davies]

Hi
You can say it,because I may well be !!My experience is nominal compared to yours and Melanies,however my point excluded the people who do not have a genuine interest in making an IVA work,so the remaining cases that fail are,if this forum reflects a true picture,are down to poor expenditure allowances in the majority of cases.Now this is partly down to the debtor not being assertive when compiling the expenditure forms alongside the IP and partly for the IP not being realistic when proposing such tight disposible incomes.
How many times do we read of people several months into their IVA that are struggling ?Where does the blame lay for this ?
Regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[Lisa2009]

I just wanted to add, although i made it sound like hubbys IVA was "easy" this came at a cost.
I (mrs skint) was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 18 months ago and spent a while in hospital. Hubby wasnt able to spend as much time with me as he wanted to because IVA payments had to be met. I had 5 lots of chaemotherapy in a hope to slow the disease down after 3 big relapses. It made me really poorly and again he still had to go into work when he would have chose to stay with me. Friends and family came in to care for me.
Our son is very hard work, again extra help being left to family and friends.
So although, in one way it has run smoothly for the past 3 years, we have had so many other things to overcome in the process.
Just didntwant anyone to think i was sounding a bit smug when i said he has never defaulted. I just wanted you all to know it was really hard on him emotionaly maintaining the past 18 months payments.

[Adam Davies]

Hi
Thanks for that,I am always amazed at the personal stories from real people going through such difficult situations,I thought mine was tough but it was nothing compared to your situation.I think that it shows just how hard an IVA is and the commitment that is needed by all to get through it.Maybe this is another reason for failing IVAs,people really do not know just how hard it's going to be.
Regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[Skippy]

Mrs Skint, I just wanted to wish you luck for the future - my dad and uncle had MS and I know what a horrible disease it is - and to say that I hope your son's assessment went well x

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[tracy.h]

I also wanted to wish you good luck and say what a brave lady you are,as Andy said its amazeing what people go through whilst also maintaining the stress of financail troubles,it puts things in perspective sending lots of positive thoughts and love to you and all your family.

Tracy

[Lisa2009]

Thank oyou for you kind words. We will keep plodding on and hopefully be IVA free in a few more weeks.
Skippy te little ones appointment went well and he did indeed fall into the autistic bracket. Few more steps to go before final diagnosis.
Once again thank you.