Is an iva right for me?

[sillyandindebt]

Hello.

Since leaving university i've had poorly paid jobs and invevitably i've lived off credit and spending more than i earn etc. I'm now 25 and i really want to clear this debt so i can do a few nice things before i settle down. I have unsecured debts of around 17k between 3 creditors (Egg Loan - 2.7k, Egg Card - 2.3K, Cahoot Loan - 8.7k and and overdraft with Barclays - 3k).

I can't cope any longer. I am paying £415 to these creditors every month that is nearly 50% of my take home pay every!! The rest is used to meet my normal daily bills and rent. I don't go out much or eat that extravigantly either so what i was wondering is, is an IVA right for me?

I want a budget that is realistic but i've heard on an IVA they take every single penny of your disposible income!? I don't want to go on a DMP because this will just take forever and i don't want the creditor hassle either!

I have a phone meeting with payplan tomorrow and i've heard their IVA's take forever to set up?

Another thing is what type of amount of fees am i looking to pay?

Do you also include your student loans from university in your IVA proposal? I'd also like to go back to university maybe next year will i be able to take a student loan out then?

Sorry for all the questions! I'm very confused!

[Dominic]

sounds like what happened to me, as i understand it you do not include Student loans.

[Dominic]

is IVa the right track for you though? only if yo can afford it and still live. Otherwise go abnkrupt that could be done and over in a year, an IVA cold be anything up to 5 years and if things go worng you could end up bankrupt anyway. IVAs are not painless.

[sillyandindebt]

Did you declare yourself bankrupt?

[Skippy]

When was your student loan taken out? If I remember correctly this can have a bearing on whether it can be included in an IVA, but I'm sure one of the experts will let me know if I'm talking rubbish!

One thing I would say is that I think you might struggle to get an IVA accepted as you only have 3 creditors. Do you have any assets? If not, have you considered bankruptcy? Although your student loan cannot be included in BR it would clear your other debts, and is nots as scary as it sounds!

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/

[gimmewine]

On top of that, the expenditure for day to day living allowed in a bankruptcy is more lenient than in an IVA. Why don't you get in touch with Payplan or CCCS, they can give you advice on the best way forward.

[Skippy]

I have posted my expenditure allowances in my blog - I'll update it later on with the comparison of my IVA allowances.

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/

[sillyandindebt]

I have an appointment with payplan tomorrow evening!

The idea of bankruptcy is creeping into my head but i'm absolutely scared to death of it! Are you allowed to save after bankruptcy? I understand with an iva you are not supposed to and you have to declare everything to your IP?

Do you still have to pany anything to the court after bankruptcy i've read about this but don't really undertand it!

I have no assets apart from a car but its only worth just over 1K.

i'm thinking of going bank to uni next year, if i'm bankrupt can i take out another student loan?

[Skippy]

Hello again. I completely understand how scared you are of BR - I was terrified which was why I entered an IVA last October.

When you are made BR, if you have enough disposable income your will be expected to pay a percentage of this into an Income Payments Agreement (IPA). I will be paying £186 into my IPA as opposed to £459 into my IVA which I think works out at about 60% of my disposable income - the rest is mine to do as I wish with. I have listed my allowances (and everything else about my IVA and BR) on my blog. I would recommend that you have a look at the Insolvency Service website - www.insolvency.gov.uk and also at the CCCS website - www.cccs.co.uk. Both of these websites have loads of information about BR and IVA.

Do you need your car for work? If so you will be able to keep it.

I'm sorry, I don't know about taking out another student loan, but hopefully one of the experts will be able to help you.

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/