Hi new to this forum

[Lauraj78]

hello everyone well where do i start??

i have beeen with a debt management company for the past 6 years. At the begining they told me that after 5 years i would be debt free. after a conversation with them the other day it now appears that i willl be paying off my debt for a further 23 years, i have managed to get the debt down from over 30,ooo down to 26,ooo which is slightly better but i wondering could i try and go for an iva?? i have a 7 year old autistic son and i want to enjoy watching him grow up and not worry about debt anymore, i know it's my fault i'm in this situation.

Many thanks

lauraj78

[jue]

Hi laura

If you could post a bit more info im sure someone will be able to help.

How much disposable income have you got each month?

How much debt and how many creditors?

Do you own your own property?


jue.x

[lily]

Hi laura

was this the only option that was offered to you? Were you told about doing an IVA? Do you have any assets. If you have been paying what you can for 6 years your debt level hasnt come down that much. I am wondering if bankruptcy would be a better option, I know it sounds scary but you must, as you say get rid of all this and concentrate on the needs of your son. Disabled children cause a higher than normal threshold of stress and you really do not need all this extra for 23 years!!!!! Please could you post more details about your situation and any assets or equity so that someone may be able to help you further.

My thoughts are with you

lily

[Lauraj78]

hiya well i between my husband and i we have 8 creditors, i don't work due to my son not being able to go to school full time. My husband brings home £1,200 aprox per month our aprox £700 per month goes out on bills so we have roughly £500 a month to live off i only get £18.10 a week which is my child benefit. We have thought about bankrubtcy but my husband would loose his job. The debt management people never mentioned anything about ivas to us at the time.IWe don't own our propety, we are council tennats. Hope this helps

lauraj78

[lily]

Laura

Firstly you should be getting Disability living allowance and if you are not working carers allowance also. Have you been advised to claim this?? I was told to when my son was 2. It could boost your income by £700 per month depending on how severely your child is affected.

Secondly, with your ongoing problems relating to your son and the fact that you have no assets to protect,BR would solve the problem, does your hubby know for sure that he would lose his job??

Finally have you approached anyone with the problem? (Ie cccs.) What is the total of your debts as with DLA and Carers you may be able to do an IVA if the debts are over 16K if not a Debt management plan would be your answer.

lily

[lily]

Ps I am not an expert just another person in debt, I am sure one of the forum experts would be able to help you further.

lily

[Adam Davies]

Hi Laura
Your case again shows the downside of a DMP..........neverending.
If you can post details of your debts,joint and single plus your disposible income[not taking into account debt repayments]and we will try and help you.
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

[lily]

Gee, whoops,silly me, guess I didnt read the post properly, appologies.

Still should be getting DLA and carers allowance though.

lily

[Lauraj78]

No one has mentioned disability for my son but i will look into it and yes my husband has looked into it and would loose his job. As we've been on the debt management program for so long i'm not sure who owes what to who, if i phoned them would they be able to tell me this information?

[lily]

If you ring disability living allowance they will send you a claim pack and its back dated from today. Anyone with a disability can claim it, it varies with the amount of disability that is endured. It would of course be payable to you as he is only seven. Also when they give you a decision you should be able to claim carers allowance which is 46 pounds per week, might be worth enquiring about that now also, that should also be back dated.

If you ring to speak to your creditors they will tell you what you owe.

Good luck and keep posting.

lily

[Lauraj78]

hiya i have spoken to my dmp and altogether we owe £26,794.93

hfc £ 1,513.20 husbands
jeremy sutcliffe £13,322.15 husbands
Roxbridge £ 589.68 mine
national australia £ 214.80 mine
mercers £ 1,214.13 mine
link financial £ 2,094.46 husbands
clarity credit £ 2,532.78 husbands
fredrickson £ 935.22 mine
1st credit £ 4,378.51 husbands
hope this helps doesn't look as bad separate (she says) lol.
i have also phoned the dla up and they are sending me a aplication pack out, thank you

[MelanieGiles]

Surely an IVA is a better option for you than an open-ended Debt Management Programme. Why did your debt advisor not suggest this to you initially?

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

[Lauraj78]

i not sure really they still haven't all they said when we first entered the dmp is that it should be over after 5 years but when we spoke to them the other day they said we had another 23 years. if we decided to go bankrupt would we both have to or could one of us take the responsibility and go bankrupt?

[lily]

I just feel an IVA would be an option for you, your own debts are around 3K, not worth going BR for. I am almost certain that given your son has this diagnosis then you would be entitled to an income boost. You could just try the carers allowance, also its automatic if you qualify for the DLA and cannot work as a consequence, you can even work part time and still qualify for it.

Not sure why the DMP was suggested in the first place but I am sure one of the other experts will be able to help.

And you are very welcome

lily

[lily]

Sorry Melanie, you werent there when I started.

lily