hi all,
i'm new on here, only found the site yesterday. i have been in iva since august and we are still feeling the strain financially. its got to the point that this month we have no money at all now. i just got off the phone to my iva manager and she has said that because we are still new to the iva she can't ask the creditors for a review, however i have done a list of income and outgoings and its obvious before we pay the iva payment that its not affordable ie we don;t have the amount left over after we have paid our bills and got food and petrol, but she wouldn't budge. i've been speaking to my dad and he thinks that we should stop paying the amount and go for bankruptcy but my partner thinks that if we do then we will never be able to get a mortgage in the future. my iva manager told me to check if we are entitled to benefits as at present i am on maternity leave, due to return to work in january however the company i work for has said there will not be a job due to cutbacks and possibility of closure. also by time i pay childcare out of my wages we would be worse off anyway. we have applied for housing and council tax benefits which would ease the pressure a bit depending on if it is successful but surely there is something she could do for us now. what should i do?
Bankruptcy is definitely an option. Do you have any assets? Your Credit rating is shot anyway just by having an IVA but after 6 years (the same as bankruptcy) it will drop off your credit file anyway and you are free to start again so you will be able to get a mortgage eventually.
Is there a clause in your IVA that says you cannot propose a variation on your payments?
Last edited by rayb on Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Hi, i've looked through the t&c's and can't see anything saying i can't, but my iva manager said that its too early to take any changes to the creditors as it was only agreed in august. it seems to me that they don't take into account the rise in food/petrol prices, i'm doing everything i can to keep my food bills low, i only buy the value ranges at the supermarket and we only make essential journeys in the car to keep petrol to a minimum. the only asset we have is the car and stuff in the house, we rent privately. if we went bankrupt would we be forced to sell the car and stuff in the house?
This IVA Manager you are speaking to, is this your actual Insolvency Practitioner or just someone who works in the Office.
You can check on www.insolvency.gov.uk and search for your IP's details and email them direct
With everything rising in price they will have to adjust your payments otherwise it will fail. If you keep receipts I cannot see how they can just refuse you regardless of how short a length of time it has been running
If you were to go BR then your belongings and your car (unless the car is worth a lot, or you have any possessions with excessive value) would be safe.
It sounds to me as though your IVA payments were made excessively high if you are unable to afford them so soon into the IVA. There are people on here who have had the same problem as you and gone Br.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
The manager is my point of contact at the company, Freeman Jones. I was told that if there were any queries or worries about the iva i should only contact her.
as far as the br goes, what classes as things of excessive value?
I think it would things like really valuable jewellery, antiques, stuff like that. Your everyday stuff would be fine.
Skippy13 has been in exactly the same position as yourself and couldn't pay her IVA and the IP refused to budge so she went bankrupt.
The only people to lose out will be the creditors as they will get next to nothing.
You will have done all you can.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Hi Gemma, I was in a similar position to you. My IVA was accepted in October 2006 and as soon as I'd made the first payment I knew I couldn't afford it. I sent an updated I & E to my IP and asked for a variation, but I had a modification stating I couldn't have any variations in the first 24 months.
If you don't have that modification I don't know if you would be able to push your IP to put the variation forward, that's one for the technical experts. I do think you need to speak to your IP rather than a manager. If you can't get through to him/her you could email them - you can get the address from the Insolvency website in the find an IP section.
Regarding BR, unless you have really expensive furniture, jewellery etc the Official Receiver wouldn't be interested. You can only keep a car if you need it for work and it's worth under approx. £3k. Do you own or rent your home?
i have the name of the ip, so will try and find his e-mail address and speak to him directly. we rent our house, only thing we own of any real expense is the car, worth about 1200 and out tv is a lcd but over a yr old now, was worth 600 new but may have devalued abit now. will also double check for the modifications but from what the manager told me doesn't seem like they are going to be much help
I have to observe that is seems odd that things have gone so wrong for you since you entered into your IVA last August. Did you fully consider your income and expenditure at that time, or were you presented with a list of figures which bore little relation to your actual circumstances?
A timely warning to all new posters to absolutely ensure that the figures presented to creditors are realistic and affordable - and that they are your figures and not ones conjured up by your IP firm.
Bang on Melanie - it is important that you give your IP full factual and correct information on day one. It appears something has gone seriously awry very early on which needs to be addressed. It does not matter than the IVA has been running for such a short period - get your IP to discuss with you and if necessary a variation can (if appropriate) be proposed. If you have any problem with your IP let me know as I probably know him.
Regards, David Mond, Insolvency Practitioner for over 46 years. Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year 2012, Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year finalist 2013 & 2014 awarded by Insolvency & Rescue Magazine and 2015 finalist for Personal Insolvency Firm of the Year.
