Help with understanding IVA rules

[vicki516]

Hi,
I have currently just signed up for an IVA, I work in mental health and complete over time most months not because I have wanted to but we cant get agency due to covid. So my basic is £1654, and my payment will be £161 a month. I dont want to break the guildlines ... I am so worried in case I do by accident , I believe I can keep 10% of over time £165 aprox and the other will get split 50/50. Now can I just ring up each month to pay extra each month or put in savings and pay when I am reviewed?.
Also is it better that I get my own bank account rather than a joint?.
Can I keep any money that I save for my house? (something breaking) and how much.
Basically what happens if I spend less on shopping one month or extra one month.
The review.. am I going to be expected to keep every receipt am so frightened.

[vicki516]

Sorry me again, am trying to make this idiot proof for my self. So could I pay my Mortgage, Council tax, Gas and Electricity, Mobile phones ( morjority of the bills) from my bank account and live on the remaining income of my husbands?
I want to make it easier for myself to buget and easier for the review, so its clear.
Am I going round the houses ??

[Foggy]

You have got the overtime thing slightly wrong (or I might have read it wrong) ---- you are allowed 10% of your basic pay -- not 10% of the overtime then split the rest 50/50. Also check that your clause is the 10% 50/50 clause, as some are a straight 50 / 50 with no 10% allowance.

Most IP have traditionally dealt with overtime on a month by month basis but, lately, some are approaching it in novel and various ways, so you would need to check with your IP. When I did it I made the regular, automatic, IVA payment as usual and, every month, a separate manual payment of the overtime share.

On the expenses front, I had two co-op cashminder accounts and kept enough in Account One (where my salary went in) to cover the regular payments, DD.s etc. and transferred the rest into Account Two, for shopping, petrol etc. You are allowed to keep aside (save) small sums for things like repairs, haircuts, entertainment and whichever expenses you have been allowed which you wouldn't actually use monthly. On household shopping and the like, whatever you underspend one month you hang on to as you might well overspend the next month !

On the shared account: it is better that you run your own account and that you and your partner do not have any joint accounts as you will then be financially associated and your IVA could be discovered on credit searches on him and lower his creditworthiness (probably not significantly though).

For reviews, keep major receipts, in case they need to see them, but general stuff like shopping, haircuts, smoking etc. won't be needed (unless you have something like a special diet which costs more than normal). They tend to concentrate on income, rather than expenditure at review as expenses tend to stay largely the same, but income fluctuates more. They will want to see P60 and / or bank statements come the time, so keep stuff like this in a box file so it will all be easy to locate. Again different IPs will have different requirements.

[vicki516]

Hi Foggy
Thank you so much for your speedy reply!!!
Sorry yes I meant 10% of my wages then overtime 50/50.
I will be with Hanover... they seemed very welcoming when I rang and helpful.

As long as I can ring every month to pay additional payments ( overtime) and not be penalised it will make me feel as ease!!! . Tbh I dont want work to know as I am embarrassed I have got to this point whilst also I am the fool that cares and cant leave our patients without enough staff. And if I say I cant do overtime they will most definitely know something is going

[vicki516]

Sorry foggy but you seem to be a fountain of knowledge haha. So what happens to that 50% of overtime that I give to the IVA .. is it just dead money ( no in my intrest)

[Foggy]

Sorry foggy but you seem to be a fountain of knowledge haha. So what happens to that 50% of overtime that I give to the IVA .. is it just dead money ( no in my intrest)

Any extra payments you make go, after fees, to the creditors to increase the amount they get repaid. During the IVA you still owe the full debt and fees and only what isn't paid at the end gets written off.

[Foggy]

Also note, Vicki, that, at the moment, there are changes to Protocol IVAs due to Covid, so far they have been extended until April 2021 (so not long left, but they might get extended again). https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... a-protocol

Look particularly at clauses 1.11:
1.11 Paragraph 10.4 of the protocol should not apply to critical workers’ overtime during the COVID-19 pandemic. A critical worker is defined by the list published by the Government and determined by the employer. Additional proof of critical worker status may be required by the supervisor.

Clause 10.4 referred to is that dealing with overtime in the Protocol IVA:
10.4 Where the individual is employed, the consumer must report any overtime, bonus, commission or similar to the supervisor if not included in the original surplus calculation, where the sum exceeds 10% of the consumer’s normal take home pay. Disclosure to the supervisor will be made within 14 days of receipt and 50% of the amount (over and above the 10%) shall be paid to the supervisor within 14 days of the disclosure.

[vicki516]

Thank you Foggy my mind is alittle more eased i jist dont want to get anything wrong then end uo bankruptc .

[vicki516]

Sorry my screen is cracked so hitting wrong buttons.

[Foggy]

Thank you Foggy my mind is alittle more eased i jist dont want to get anything wrong then end uo bankruptc .

When I was in my IVA I told my IP everything financially related, as it happened --- I am sure that he didn't want to know half the stuff, but I left it to him to sort out what he wanted and to ignore the rest. But, I was lucky to be with a firm, at that time, where you could actually speak to your own IP directly and I struck up a great working relationship.

[Colin351973]

Hi viki yes foggy is a great guru on this stuff and this site will help you it certainley has me ! I have just had an annual review my first ! Also embarrassed about my position .I was with vanguard now transferred to ebenegate at my review they just looked at the yearly p60 last 3 months bank statements and 3 months wage slips .They looked at my small overtime and just increased my monthly payments by 35.00 monthly for the next year .I put my overtime to oneside just incase of any comebacks its scary stuff but its not as bad as you might imagine I think your yearly p60 is the main document they go off then just check your bank and monthly wages to make sure you have not been aquiring any extra income from anywhere !!

[Colin351973]

So far my experience is save as much as you can from your little allowances in the first year live tight and try and get a small ammount of savings together for a rainy day once you have a small ammount of savings you can build on this .its certainley not easy by any means but as foggy says its acheivable if you stick to it

[vicki516]

Thank you Colin can they penalise me if I am honest and offer to pay 50% of over time every month... i just dont want to breach the guildlines by being as honest as I can.
Thank you .