It is finally over!!!
We received our Completion Certificates yesterday
To anyone starting out on their IVA journey, there is light at the end of the tunnel, we were unfortunate that Northern Rock were one of our creditors who we had a small amount of arrears with, therefore instead of the standard 5 years one we started straight away with a 6 year IVA!! We had a very bumpy start with many of you knowing the feeling of stress and worry of creditors ringing, then appointments with IP via phone as my husband was self employed via an agency at the time we had to drive the 7 hour round trip with a one year old to the Payplan head-quarters in Grantham to have a meeting as this is standard practice with them, well certainly at that time in 2012. Around this time our house was broken into and my car and a few items were stolen!! We felt our world was crumpling around us! But we held it together dusted ourselves down and carried on, one step at a time, only ever seeing the IVA as stages year by year! In the beginning it is a relief to not have the phone ringing or letters coming in, so that for us was a big thing, before we knew it our first Annual Review was due, payslips entered and few changes made payments increased.
All carried on well we just kept our heads down worked hard and ploughed all our strength into making it work, in 2014 we decided to add to our family and spoke with Payplan and agreed would be ok, only to be one week into my maternity leave to be made redundant and my employer gone AWOL I had to wait 6 months in order to receive any SMP!! During this a few phone calls to Payplan we were allowed to make token payments while we recovered. Another variation meeting was held and we had another year added onto our term, which we had no problem with as we had another beautiful son for this and we were still in the IVA and not had it failed.
Over the next few Annual Reviews went smoothly, my husband gained employment and came off agency work, most reviews we had a slight increase in our payments (we were in interlocking IVA's) but always managed. It has taken a lot of planning and control but made it work. Most reviews needed only payslips and P60's a few occasions somethings were questioned especially in the last 2 years such as fuel bills for both our cars but due to work distances and fuel price increases was justified also our Virgin Media bill, which I justified as I was unable to take my kids to the cinema as treats often therefore did films at home that was in our package again this was allowed.
Over the years with Payplan have been a good as far as things go, as long as you keep up your payments you only will hear from them at annual review time unless you contact them in between for any reason. Around September time our equity was addressed and we were found to not have any as some big improvements are required to our home which of course drove the price down, we had a local evaluation done. Towards the end of our IVA's I gained full time employment as our second son started school and I started full time one month after. I contacted Payplan and informed them off this and sent in new payslips and was told I would hear back from them. Only I didn't until It was reaching the end of our IVA (you may remember I posted a few questions regarding this) we were hit with big payments but predicted this we had been setting aside for this. My husband was due to finish first at the beginning of Feb and then me beginning of March. We made the additional payment for my husbands and then with and extra two pay days were able to complete mine on time (we certainly pulled right back with household bills luckily Council Tax and Water bill break helped us)
We completed the PPI agreement letter for any future claims and returned them asap, and then waited........
Then yesterday was the day that those two all important letters dropped on the door mat
which was a fantastic turn around so well done to Payplan for that!
The relief and sense of achievement was over whelming we had done it!!!
Many obstacles / life happenings along the way:
1 x House break in
2 x Redundancies
1 x Shed break in
1 x Baby
1 x Family trauma
But we got there in the end and marriage still very much in tact thankfully!! Now onward and upwards to our new debt free life and so far it feels amazing, I haven't posted much on the forum but have checked in most weeks and sought advice, so for that I am eternally grateful to you all
well done on all the work you experts do on her as for many this is a lonely journey full of questions and worries.
Thank you all again
Louise492
xx
