I V A, I dont know where to start

[babyblue]

Hi everybody, Myself & husband want to speak to somebody (an IP ) about an I V A, but I dont know where to start. We have debts of approx £60000, 14 creditors and a possible disposable income of £350. I dont know if we should include settlement figures of the loans we owe or total amount oweing left. Also, we have a car on finance, due to finish in 2 years. If we give this up, my husband would not be able to get to work. He has 2 jobs, 1 full & 1 part. We have a mortgage on our house also, which we dont want to lose.
thanks in advance,

[Adam Davies]

Hi
You can contact one of the companies that post on this forum,look at the experts page link on the home page.
You are normally allowed to keep a car in an IVA and your house will be safe if you keep payments up on the mortgage and the IVA payments.You will possibly have to release some equity towards the end of your IVA.
Hope this helps
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

[iva experts]

Hello Babyblue and Welcome!

When looking into your options to solve your debt problem, I would advise that you contact at least 2-3 companies as this will soon cancel out any ill advice and make your options clearer.

When trying to figure out how much you owe on your loans, to be safe I would always go with the higher amount. In regards to the car, in IVA's creditors are more lenient (rather than in bankruptcy) I wouldn't think they would ask you to sell the car unless it is either brand new and/or worth c£7,000-9,000.


Best Regards. IVA Experts

[MelanieGiles]

Hi babyblue

You certainly look as if you have the makings of an IVA from the brief information you have posted, but entering into such process is a very big step and you must take specialist advice.

The best thing to do to find out exactly how much you owe your creditors, is to ring them up and ask for an "account balance". Make sure that this is the figure they give you, rather than a "settlement figure", as this can often be lower but is only available if you pay off the debt in full, which you are unlikely to do under an IVA.

It is very unlikely that creditors will want your husband to give up his car, as he says it is necessary for travel to and from work. Can I ask how much equity you currently have in your property?

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

[iva.com]

Hello Babyblue,

We maintain a list of IVA firms and IPs at www.iva.com. We also publish reviews of the services provided by clients of these firms.

As IVA Experts advised, it is often best to research several firms before choosing which to appoint.

Good luck in your search and please let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,
Terry Balfour
IVA.com

IVA.com - Comparing IVA firms by using consumer feedback.

Please rate your IVA firm or Insolvency Practitioner by reviewing them here: http://www.iva.com/submit_iva_review.asp

[babyblue]

Hi, thankyou everybody for your replys. I have been in touch with thomascharles and have started the ball rolling. We are in the process of gathering all paperwork needed, ie, statements, wage slips, etc etc, and have agreed a monthly figure to propose to the creditors. I have cancelled all DD & SO on the instruction of Thomascharles. We obviously dont know if the proposed amount will be accepted, but thomascharles have explained if not, a DMP would be the next option for us and they feel pretty confident. I do feel a bit better now we are doing something positive about our debt, and to be honest, i cant wait for it to get up & running. One thing i am terribly worried about though is, in the meantime between now and the start of whichever plan is accepted, is the telephone calls & letters from all our creditors which we will get asking for money. Also, even though thomascharles have told me it is unlikely we will get creditors knocking on the door asking for payment, I wont feel relaxed about answering the door to anybody i dont know until a plan has been accepted by our creditors.
Once again, many thanks for your replys. i will post updates as & when, [:)] babyblue.

[ruby]

Hi babyblue,

I know how you feel about answering the door. I was really paranoid about that whilst I was waiting for my IVA to be approved. I've got a teenager and it was really difficult asking her not to answer it........however, I didnt have anyone call at the door.

As for phone calls, you can choose to answer or not, you will know if the number is familar to you. Somedays I didn't want to talk to them so I just ignored it. On other days when I really felt like taking them on, they didn't ring.......having said that I really didn't get many calls!

My only suggestion is that you reply and return things to thomas charles as quickly as you can, that way the time until your meeting will not be delayed.

Good luck and ask anything on this forum, people are really helpful, no matter how daft you might think the question is!

Ruby

[babyblue]

Hi Ruby, thanks for you reply,[:)] it is really encouraging listening to you. I was trying to figure out ways to put off visitors just in case somebody did knock [:I].
I am sitting here just working out how much more income we have left to come to us this month after all the neccessary things have to be paid for. I have arranged to make my payment to thomascharles on the 23rd of the month and so on. I have an estate agents coming on thursday to give us a valuation and am expecting statements through the door anytime. Hopefully we will be able to get the paperwork to them friday.
This debt has totally dragged me down, my DD aged 4 doesnt know whats wrong with mummy some days, poor thing. i do try my best to hide it from her but sometimes I cant help getting upset in front of her. My appearrance is not what it should be, I have let myself go somewhat and constantly have a frown or far away look as I try and juggle the numbers another way...But I do feel quite a bit better now, as i know either plan, IVA or DMP will help us solve this dilemma.
Once again thankyou for your reply, we certainly do not feel as alone as we did last week after finding this forum. I am actually feeling more positive than I have done for a long time. Yes, our debt is £68k,[:0] but we are now taking steps to reduce it.

Many thanks,
i will keep posting and checking this wonderful site, babyblue.

[BrassicLintus]

Hi Babyblue, I think most people on this forum will identify with what you've said, but you've made the most important (and hardest) step - that initial phone call to sort it out. Regarding telephone calls from creditors - it may help if you put together a short letter stating that you are experiencing some financial difficulty but that you're taking steps to sort it out, and you could include your IP's name and address and ask that any future correspondence be directed to them. I did that and most of my creditors have left me alone (expect Morgan Stanley who ring about 8 times a day - starting at 9am!) If they do persist in calling you can always change your phone number! I'm about 3 months in arrears with all my creditors (I decided not to go for an IVA and have decided to file for bankruptcy) and I haven't had them knocking on my door so I don't think you have anything to worry about there. You just have to stay positive and remember that once your IVA is accepted that you won't have to worry about the phone calls, letters or knocks on the door - it'll feel like a weight off your shoulders and you can get your life back on track and your daughter can have her happy beautiful mummy back!!!!

[Adam Davies]

Hi babyblue
Letters and phone calls are something that you have to be strong and deal with.Face them head on,do not ignore them.Keeping a good communication line with your creditors will help matters so just inform them,when they phone,that you ae taking professional advice and will be proposing an IVA.I personally would not make any token payments,but take advice from your IP.
Nobody will be knocking at your door.
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