Stressed Out

[northumbrian69]

My wife and I have joint debts of £121k, we have borrowed and borrowed for years to keep heads above water until Jan 8th contacted CCCS, they put us in contact with Grant Thornton who advised an IVA of £720/month. All our information returned to Grant Thornton on 1st Feb, our IVA proposal has not been sent to a 'proof writer' yet and we have been told the creditors meeting will not be until April.
In the meantime we are being harrassed with phone calls from early morning until late at night 7 days a week, at home and work.
We are putting all our disposable income away as directed by Grant Thornton but our creditors just don't seem to want to listen to our request to freeze our accounts until the creditors meeting so interest and late charges are going up and up.
Is this normal, is there anything we can do in the meantime, my wife is in bad health and I just can't think of anything else except the mess we are in.
Do you think Grant Thornton will get the IVA approved, is it normal to take more than 2 months to prepare for a creditors meeting.
We would welcome any advice[?]

[fionaj]

Hello
I know it is hard not to panic, but things will work out. I went with Grant Thornton, I was first passed to them from the CCCS in August and my first creditors meeting was rejected in December. However, ny 2nd proposal was accepted in Feb - with ironically only Northern Rock voting out of 13 creditors! They were very helpful overall, and I would have faith in them even it does seem to be a long process. I know it is easy for me to say now mine has been approved - but I went through the same sleepless nights, stress, phonecalls etc - but just keep a positive outlook and at least you have taken that first step to making a better future for yourself. Things would be much worse if you buried your head in the sand.
Grant Thornton are there to answer your questions - so maybe you should call them and voice your worries re phonecalls, and they might give you advise on what to say

[Sarah]

unfortunately yes this is normal but i agree with the above although things bad at the minute in a couple of months time your life will be so much better just rise above all of the phone calls..... Or unplugg the phone at home just to make sure you get some rest! Who are your main creditors as this may give us a better outlook on what to expect.

[northumbrian69]

unfortunately yes this is normal but i agree with the above although things bad at the minute in a couple of months time your life will be so much better just rise above all of the phone calls..... Or unplugg the phone at home just to make sure you get some rest! Who are your main creditors as this may give us a better outlook on what to expect.

Thanks for the reassurance, its hard to rise above the phone calls everytime its someone different and a lot of the calls are automated dialling as well as text messages to my company mobile.
Creditors are: Lloyds TSB, EGG, Capital 1, GM Card, MBNA and Mint. Lloyds TSB and MBNA call centres are the worst for repetitive phone calls, I have written to all creditors at least twice, they ignore the letters and continue with the calls.
I will try and take your advice and get some rest but its really hard to switch off, I just can't believe how stupid we have been burying our heads in the sand for so long hoping something would turn up[:(][:(]

[Sarah]

Dont worry you are not the only ones to do it.... it is so easy to ti think that you will be able to manage this on yur own but trust me if it goes through it is such a massive relief and I am 10 times happier no I am in a IVA.
From the looks of it I do not think that you have any really difficult creditors when it comes to IVA and you are offerig quite a high amount to pay back.
I had Egg and Capital one and I did not have a problem with them at all I am not sure on your others but I do not think they are a mojor problem. But others on this site may be able to give you a bit more reassurance on them.
Please use this site to its advantage though it is great for when you just want to have a moan and gt something off your chest or if you need to ask any questions.
One thing to remember is you are not alone in this and at least you are doing something about it now.

[northumbrian69]

Thanks for the reassurance, its good to hear from people that have successfully got through an IVA, good luck to you. Its the waiting and uncertainty that are a real killers, we are terrified the IVA will fail and we will be made bankrupt and lose our home, at such a late stage in our lives, I don't think we could handle that.
We will just have to think positively, please keep posting your successful IVA stories, I know Grant Thornton are a top notch company, but you can't help thinking the worst all the time.

Dont worry you are not the only ones to do it.... it is so easy to ti think that you will be able to manage this on yur own but trust me if it goes through it is such a massive relief and I am 10 times happier no I am in a IVA.
From the looks of it I do not think that you have any really difficult creditors when it comes to IVA and you are offerig quite a high amount to pay back.
I had Egg and Capital one and I did not have a problem with them at all I am not sure on your others but I do not think they are a mojor problem. But others on this site may be able to give you a bit more reassurance on them.
Please use this site to its advantage though it is great for when you just want to have a moan and gt something off your chest or if you need to ask any questions.
One thing to remember is you are not alone in this and at least you are doing something about it now.

[iva experts]

Hello Northumbrian69,

The way you are feeling is completely normal but think of it this way, at least you have now realised that you have a debt problem and are actually doing something about it.

There are still alot of people out there that are burying their heads, when they could be getting help.


Hope this information is of use

Regards. IVA Experts

[Sarah]

Tell me about it the waiting is def the worst part but it should all get moving very soon and the time has flown for me since being in the IVA I cant believe that I have made 9 payments already and when you have come out of it all just think you will be debt free and have a clean slate and be able to manage your money 10 times better than you have done before!

Keep thinking positive and unplugg that phone!

[lesley]

My boss has told our receptionist not to allow any phone calls for me at work anyone that I want to speak to has got my mobile number and I unplug the phone at night. Don't worry it will stop. I have got creditors meeting on 29th March so I will have to put up with it until then.

[MelanieGiles]

I have seen several posts over the last couple of days with regard to the time it takes IVA proposals to be prepared by IP's. Most people think that the IP who puts everything together in 3 weeks is excellent, and the ones who take three months are not. I do not necessarily concur with this view!

An IVA is a document which needs to be put together carefully to ensure that it is factually accurate. This involves the IP seeing many documents, independently verifying property valuations, mortgage and creditor accounts, income etc, and importantly getting you to agree that you understand the contents and the commitment involved with the procedure. I would say that on the whole the IP who takes 3 careful months to work on your behalf, if providing you a much better service in the long run - so long as that three months is being used sensibly and not just to collect the nominee's fee.

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

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[freelili]

Hi Northumbrian

The phone calls are coming from people who are paid to STRESS a payment out of you and they dont care how. They actually have very little power and it takes them ages to take you to court. They have an incentive bonus if they get money out of you also. The best way to deal with them is not to let them get a word in, tell them your going for IVA your IP and say 'now update your records please' and hang up. If they are rude you can mention the words telecomunications harrassment act and that you are going to record the conversation. It worked for me. You are doing all you can do to address the problem. Try and hang on in there.

good luck and keep posting

LILY

[neverending]

I agree
Have faith in your IP,after all they want to get your IVA approved as much as you.They will earn well out of it.
Your feelings are totally normal but you have done all that you can now regarding returning information.
With regard to creditors phoning just have a set statement to read out once they call,i:e We are in the proceess of proposing an IVA through Grant Thornton,address is xxxx.The tel number is xxxx and contact name xxxx.Then simply state that you are terminating the call.
Alternatively phone them each morning and state the same,this way they are more unlikely to call you as a corrospondence for that day will have been logged on their computer.
These people are just doing their job and to them you are just a number.Be polite but firm
Good Luck