This is probably the hardest thing I've done

[mike.s]

Hi,
This is probably the hardest thing I've done, admit to myself let alone others than I am in serious debt and can't see any way out. The thought of discussing this with someone, and what will happen to my family terrifies me. I owe about £48k, mostly on credit cards, and have robbed Peter to pay Paul for so long I don't know what it feels like to not owe money and worry myself sick every month as to how I'm going to cover all the minimum payments. If the phone rings my heart pounds and I shout to whoever is about to answer it to tell them I'm not here, which is horrible if it's the children as I'm sure they are now beginning to wonder what is wrong, it would break my heart to tell them the truth.
I know I need help but don't know which way to turn for the best. I work for myself and have been trying to keep our heads above water saying that things will get better, they actually are now and there is starting to be a profit (I make and sell jewellery, via markets, fairs, private bookings etc) but we have had to live on credit for so long it has mounted up and up. Any money that comes in now has to go straight back out to cover payments (about £900 each month now, not including other household bills, this is just on my credit cards) I then have to buy stock, so end up using the cards again, and on it goes. I have kept most of this from my family, I have tried to keep family life as normal as I can, holidays, Christmas, Birthdays, etc, have all gone on the cards. I am now in a situation where it is just impossible to pay the minimum payments on my cards each month and keep things going, there is no where left to turn. I cashed in my endowment last year and threw £16,000 at the cards, which helped for a while, but that is now all gone and I'm back up to the limits on my cards. We have had the house up for sale for the last six months, and I was hoping this would have sold so I could pay a big chunk off the cards, but we still haven't found a buyer yet. If the house sells there would probably be about £30,000 left over, which we could use to clear some of the debt, but I don't know how I can keep my head above water until it sells. Would I be able to get an IVA to freeze the interest payments on my cards and cut my monthly payments to an affordable amount? Also would I be able to keep my current account as I would need some way of being able to buy stock for my business (I use the Internet and Paypal to buy stock as none of my suppliers are in this country) If I couldn't I wouldn't have a business, which has took so ong to build up to a position where it could finally be making money. What is the best thing to do next as I'm at my wits end? Thank you, hoping you can help.
Mike

[bagpuss]

I am NO expert Mike but didnt want to leave you all night with no answer cos many of the others might now have logged off.

I THINK that with 30k equity and 48K debt (have you actually added it up) you MAY be able to do a F/F if you dont have a decent amount for a monthly IVA. You COULD remortage to raise the extra needed from your equity and use that to offer as a F/F.

We owed about 72k but didnt have enough money left over each month after Mortgage and utility, to make a reasonable offer for a 5 term IVA....but we did have 30k equity...we couldnt remotgage upto 100% but we could get 15K of it....so thats what we offered after out IP said it should be enough 22.15pence in the pound...it was accepted. Yes it means a bigger mortgage but nothing like what you are trying to find at the mo.

I hope this helps a little...even if to sleep tonight...the experts will be able to help you more.

xx

Angie xx


My IVA Story......http://bagpuss.blogs.iva.co.uk/2007/09/ ... iva-story/

[catullus]

Hello Mike

Having committed yourself to the sale of the house is a very good start for an IVA because it will enable you to offer an early significant repayment to your creditors. That will be tempting to them but it is important that you are realistic about the value of the house (and therefore the equity) and also the timescale needed to acheive a sale.

If the creditors approve an IVA pending a sale of the house all interest and charges will cease immediately on approval. What is not clear from your post is whether you could/need to make a further payment to them out of your disposable income for a period of time. From what you have said, and reading between the lines you probably neither could or would need to make such an offer but an IP would look at this with you.

The IVA proposal would be structured to allow you to continue to trade but it will be necessary for you to produce accounts and probably a trading forecast to prove that the business is viable and is capable of paying you the earnings that you draw out of it. It sounds to me as though this would be a useful exercise for you anyway.

There also shouldn't be a problem with your business bank account to enable you to continue to trade but, on this issue, many posters on this forum report rather erratic policies that the banks employ so it might be worth you asking a specific question regarding your own bank. Someone is bound to know whether they are prepared to allow continued banking facilities within an IVA.

You've taken the hardest step by accepting that you need help so now you need to research which IP to use and there will be no shortage of support from posters on this board,

Best of luck!!

[MelanieGiles]

Sounds to me like a full and final settlement is the best way forward here, but to avoid having to pay ongoing payments to creditors you will need to demonstrate to your chosen IP and the creditors that you have no spare money. As Catullus has already stated this will have to be done by reference to historical accounts and future trading projections.

On the positive side, creditors will be pleased to know that you are making the ultimate sacrifice of giving up your family home to pay them, and they will receive an early dividend rather than waiting for five years to be drip fed funds.

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

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[iva.com]

Hi Mike,

If you havn't yet chosen which IVA firm to work with, you may find www.IVA.com useful. We maintain a list of IVA firms and IPs and publish client reviews of the services that they provide.

Congratulations on taking the first step towards finding the right solution for you. Please let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,
Terry Balfour
IVA.com

IVA.com - The IVA Comparison Site
100s of reviews, All IPs and IVA firms rated.

Use our IVA firm comparison tool to find best IVA firm for you:
http://www.iva.com/iva_comparison_1.asp

[mike.s]

Hi everyone,
Thank you all so much for talking to me, it feels such a comfort to finally talk about it openly and hear that there may be hope. I've struggled with debt for many years and always managed to find a way to pay it, or rather keep the wolves from the door for another month, but this time (this month to be precise) I know I can't manage it. It is making me sick with worry and I just want it to end as I can't live like it anymore. My marriage is at breaking point and I can't remember what it's like to laugh and play with the kids, it's constantly there on my mind and I can't think of anything else now. I'm three days late with the minimum payment of one of my cards (the rest will follow in the next few days) and I'm just waiting for the phone calls to start all over again. I wish now I had done something when I cashed the endowment in as I would have had £16,000 to offer up front then the sale of the house would have pretty much cleared everything, but I guess it's pointless going on about that now. We have been holding on hoping things will get better as my wife is training to be a driving instructor and she has passed the first two parts and has her final test next week. If she passes she could start with a driving school pretty much straight away, if she fails we will have to find another £90 to take the test again then if she fails again that's it she will have to start all over again from part one. It is much harder to pass than they make out when they are taking the £3,000 from you at the start of the course. A year ago we sat down and everything seemed like it was coming together, Jane passes her test and starts a driving school, I make and sell jewellery and we would easily be on a £1,000 a week, yes I know 'if it was only that easy'. A year later and I don't know how we are going to get shopping today. Unfortunately I don't have an accountant so I don't have accounts to show an IP. I do have my own records of takings, and everything I take goes into the bank so it is easy to see what we have going in and out each month. I also have all my tax returns, I always fill them in on time, which show profits etc. Last year there was a lot of stock purchased so the profit showing is very low, this week on the market was also very bad, I will only be banking about £140 for the week after market stall rent, but it is usually about £250, and obviously we are coming into the best trading time of the year so we should be taking good money over the next couple of months, if I can just keep going. We did have someone come to look at the house a few days ago and although they have a couple more houses to look at they were very interested, so a sale could be on the horizon, fingers crossed. Would I still be able to do an IVA? Is this the best option for me? What is the best next step? Thank you for any help and advice.
Best wishes to all
Mike

[aguise]

Hi Mike
I will leave the tech stuff dor Melanie and the more able.
I just wanted to say hello and welcome and to say that most of us have been and felt the way that you are. Things will get better, you have made the best decision and that is to sort it out. I like you ignored the debt for a long time always thinking it would get better. The only way is to face it and sort it.
Try not to let it affect the family, easier said than done when you feel down but it wont change anything so enjoy them.
There are better times ahead so all the best from me.
Keep posting, if you need a moan , moan at us we do sometimes too, the support on here is great.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[lily]

Hi Mike

Just wanted to agree with ang, know what youre going through mate. Its a horrible feeling and you feel so desperate. I was struggling for six months after I had realised the problem, its what we do I think as you just dont know there is a way out. But there is and what a relief it was to me to come here.

I also picked up on another point that you made with the children, I felt the same was as you and didnt want to undermine their securtity by telling them the truth, but eventurally I decided the truth was far better for their well-being than being short and trying to hide my dispair. I was honest with them and they were brilliant, they said they knew something was wrong and felt better knowing reality rather than thinking the worst, we were in it together, (cant say they understood it all, but they knew mommy was short, had made a mistake and was trying to do something about it). It really helped me and them. Not trying to tell you what to do or anything, I just think that the kids might be wondering. I hope me saying this is OK, not trying to make you feel worse, its just we underestimate our children picking up on the non verbal stress of those around them.

Good luck

lily

[MelanieGiles]

Hi Mike

A good IP can help you put the accounts together - or at least into a format which can be presented to your creditors. You do seem very positive about the future, so it is definately worth contacting someone for a brief initial chate. They will probably give you a shopping list of things to do, but at least you will then have something you can work towards. And do continue to post on the forum.

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

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[Adam Davies]

Mike
You have made the hardest step and that is accepting that you can,t go on like this and need to do something.
I suggest that you have a chat with two ot three companies that post on this site and see what they advise.
An IVA is a way to address your debts and for you and your family to start living again.
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

[mike.s]

Hi to everyone,
Thank you all so much for your time, advice and comforting words of help, it has been an emotional day! A strange relief in one way though, I guess it is the first time I have shared this outside of my own thoughts, I find it is hard even to discuss with my wife and couldn't imagine telling the children at this stage, I feel as though I have failed them. But I am determined to sort this out now and face it in a positive way and look forward to the future. I'm going to sit down and work out everything we have going out and what we have coming in at the moment rather than bury my head in the sand. Then I guess is the scary part, contacting and speaking to someone in person. There are so many questions spinning around in my head, what about Christmas, how will I keep my business going, can I keep my bank account, am I allowed to have a bank account, what about when the kids need new shoes and clothes etc, but hey one step at a time. I'm going to work out the exact figure we owe on credit cards. We also have a loan, which is about six years into a ten year loan (£10,000), we have never missed a payment. Should this be included in the IVA? Also my wife has a credit card, which has about £2,000 on it, should this also be included? The loan is in joint names, but all of the credit cards (other than my wife's) are in my name. Do I take out an IVA on my own or does it involve both of us? Wow sorry for so many questions, I've never really talked about it b4 so it just seems to be flowing out now, but I really want it sorted, just really scared of the consequences.
Thank you all again so much it is a relief knowing that there is hope and there are people out there willing to give help and support, I feel I might be able to have a good nights sleep tonight, that hasn't happened for a long time, things seem so much worse at 3am. Thank you again.
Best wishes
Mike

[aguise]

Hi agin Mike
There is an iva though it is not joint it is interlocking, so one proposal, one income and expenditure, one monthly payment. We have one like this. All unsecured debts have to be included in an iva so if your wife did not she would still be expected to continue the payments on the joint loan. When you work out your expenditure make sure you include everything, it has yo be a manageable amount for you and your family. Dont forget prescriptions, dentist all the little things that can add up and pressure an iva.

All the best.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[Adam Davies]

Mike
If you get a chance have a look at my interview on IVA.co.uk tv[top of the page].Your case and feelings are so similar to mine.
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

[fudge34]

Mike,
Just remember that you can and will get through this, these must feel like the darkest days for you right now but there is light at the end of the tunnel and everyone on here is here to help, advise or simply just to support you! its just the first step, which you have taken, into realisation of the debt you are in, now you have taken that step, everything will feel alot simplier, I think its the 3am what the hell am I going to do, followed by how have i got myself into this that are the worst feelings, no matter what things can't get any worse than having to deal with that!

[Skippy]

I know it sounds corny but there is light at the end of the tunnel - you have taken the first step by posting on here. Most of us have been in a similar situation so we understand what you are going through.

Good luck and please keep posting 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/