The meeting with the OR today

[fudge34]

Right just got home! It was fine, in fact the OR was lovely, very kind and helped me along the way. Interview lasted over two hours and went through everything that i had submitted in minute detail. She even helped me prompting me along the way when she said you must have found it hard being out of work for a year with a small baby when I said I didn't know how I could have accrued such credit card debt. She was so kind I kept shaking her hand when I left.

What I found was that, yes she was mostly interested in my loans / credit cards what i had spent the money on. Why I had moved from London to here in the past year leaving behind a enormous salary and taking on a smaller less well paid job, why I thought I got into debt and she was even outraged at NR for not accepting my IVA proposal.

She didn't blanch at my travel expenses, or the fact that I had to buy my daughter new winter boots (Clarkes) at 35 quid a pop or that I had put aside 15.00 per month for my cat. She was very fair (and dare I say it I think she wanted to help me more than anything!) She allowed me
mortgage 753.00
gas / elec 70.00
Council tax 110.00
Insurance 20.00
Water 41.00
Telephone 40.00
Mobile 25.00
Travel 182.00
Nursery fee 1000.00
Opticans 17.00
Dentist 10.00
Hcut 20.00
Clothing 100.00
Holiday fund 50.00
Housekeeping 400.00

She didn't up or subtract from any of the figures - I did and this is good advice do a very detailed I&E sheet which she said really helped her as people don't always do these in that much detail.

I thought she might say that I should detract from my housekeeping but she said that this was fine. She worked out that i have only 37.00 surplus at the end of every month and that I couldn't pay an IPA so I am really pleased. BI on the house, that is to come but husband has to write to her stating his interest. She didn't add in child benefit as this is not taken into account but she did add in working tax credits to count towards the nursery bill. She did also say that she hoped I would be able to get an early discharge as I was straightforward but not certain and that I would have to go back in six months for another appraisal of my salary etc in case I get a pay rise. At the end she asked me to sum up why I had gotten into this position and I told her honestly, working mum, high nursery bill and not earning enough money plus I was completely niaeve thinking I could struggle on. Sorry if this is a bit detailed but I wanted to help you if you are going through the same thing as to what I was allowed!

[andymac]

Thanks Fudge, very interesting as I have my OR interview this wednesday.

Did you go into the interview with lists of all the things you had spent the money on, ie were you very prepared, or did you just try to answer the questions as you went along?

Many thanks for such a detailed posting.

[fudge34]

Good luck for Weds - I actually prepped myself last night - got a print out of my loans and then worked out where I had spent what on - this was the area that she focused alot on and from previous replies on this forum the area that they seem most interested in. I was quite honest, kept saying I was stupid, and that I regretted it, and at the end she said well you won't do this again will you. She even said that she regrets the fact that creditors will still call me for the next month until they receive formal notification of my BR. I do think it depends on the nature of the OR you get - but the better you are prepared the more it helps - she said that having such a detailed I&E form in front of her really helped - I had even listed everything that I had brought this month not that you have to go to those lengths...

[BlueShoes]

Hi fudge
I'm so pleased that the OR meeting went well for you. I have been reading your postings and know how anxious you have been. The relief at finally getting things sorted is indescribable isn't it? (We are in IVA, and are so grateful for the opportunity to sort ourselves out financially after many years of juggling money/consolidating loans and finally running out!)
Hopefully you will be able to move on, and enjoy life with your husband and baby without having to worry too much about finances.
I wish you the very best.
Blue

[Skippy]

I'm glad it went well Fudge!

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/

[BrassicLintus]

Fantastic news Fudge!!! It must be such a relief after all the stress! As you said the OR is there to help you, not punish you. Well done for getting through it!

[fudge34]

Thanks feel especially lucky to have you guys as well as such an understanding OR know that isn't always the case - Jane's OR nightmare still fills me with horror!

[lily]

Well done fudge glad you have a good one. Good luck now start looking forward.

lily

[andymac]

Out of interest, does anyone have a link to Janes OR nightmare? I would like to read it.

[fudge34]

I don't but I think it might be under the other bit where it says if IVA won't work for you - hopefully Jane will log on later and she can tell you herself it all sounded awful for her which goes back to my original post the outcome of the OR interview is sometimes dependent on teh nature of the OR and what they think you should be allowed to have - I was very lucky.

[katy]

Glad it went well for you fudge, it must be a relief for you and your husband. The OR still hasn't sent through a new I&E form for us and our interview was the middle of september!

[pippa]

Hi Fudge

So glad it went well for you today.

Pippa

[fudge34]

Thanks Katy and Pippa thanks for the help and support along the way - can't say that I am not relieved that the OR interview is out of the way - Katy did they not accept the one that you had at the interview? you should call them back although they do run pretty slowly ...

[katy]

Hi Fudge, we told them we'd made a few changes from the original BR form and he said he would send us a new form. We are actually over our total income with it all (god knows how we didn't go BR sooner!) and that is including tax credits. I think I will get in touch with him, he asked us to send a Council tax bill to him along with the revised form, so I'll just send that and a note to ask for the form.

[fudge34]

You would think they would be quicker especially with any IPA payments that you might have to make! I am still reeling from my meeting today - looking at the figures I wonder how i carried on paying the debts off for as long as I did and how stupid I was to think that i could pay an IVA, I look at the 700 per month figure now and see how mad it all was - although I am not proud to have gone BR I am mighty glad that i did!