Hi,
I would like a bit of advice on my IVA if possible please.
I started my IVA in May 2007 for 5 1/2 years, the extra 6 months being in leiu of equity as my house had none at the time. Payments set at £448 as Accuma also took into account my wife's income.
All went well until April 2009 when my wife was made redundant while pregnant with our first child. My IP authorised a 6 month payment break for this which would be reviewed in Oct 2009. (We have also had a second child in Sep 2011).
However by then I had also been made redundant from my job which I recieved no redundancy pay as I had been there less than 2 years. During this time I also had to sell my house to a Housing Association as the mortgage arrears were building up.
I failed to find any work until Sep 2010 but this was a very low wage which meant I still couldn't pay my IVA.
Grant Thornton (who took over my IVA) have been very patient about this until recently when they sent me a breach notice.
However a little glimmer of light appeared when I got a promotion at work and will be earning a higher wage from this month.
This means based on my 'agreed' I&E, I can afford to pay approx £300 a month into my IVA again.
Spoken to GT about this and they want me to resume this level of payment with a view to a variation. However they are also talking of the possibility of extending the IVA up to two more years to make up the shortfall.
What I would like to know if this is still the best course of action for me? (remembering I don't own my home anymore).
Also should I restart payments before GT have reviewed my I&E more thoroughly as some of it is inadequate at the moment? (£40 / month to buy clothes for 2 adults, a toddler and a newborn!)
Many thanks for your time in advance.
You certainly have had a difficult time since your IVA started.
I would be inclined to ask for a full review of your I&E before you agree to anything - if your current I&E does not reflect your actual outgoings then it must be reviewed - it is critical that this is set correctly from the outset otherwise you will always be struggling.
If you have been unable to pay then they are correct in issuing a breach of terms - you have been very lucky not to receive the breach notice before now - it normally kicks in at three missed payments.
Your circumstances have changed significantly since your IVA started and therefore bankruptcy may be a better option - but you really need to take some advice from some IP's to gain expert opinion - no reason why you cannot look at www.iva.com and seek some advice from some of the firms that appear on there.
If you do have disposable income, under bankruptcy you will still be expected to pay for three years - so really you need to try and work our what is financially the better option for you.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
Ask your own firm what their advice is regarding bankruptcy.With nothing left to protect it may well be the best option for you. Let us know what they say.
Paul
Discharged today the 8th feb 2012. View is much brighter now.
Continuing to rebuild our credit worthiness.
You have experienced huge changes in your circumstances since your IVA was approved in 07.
GT will be in contact with you today to discuss your case and the best options for you and your family.
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
Thanks for all your input, guys. Much appreciated.
I have a message to give GT a call later, which I will do when I leave work.
Just to clarify, I don't have a problem with GT sending the breach notice, I was just surprised it took as long as it did!
Hi guys,
Sorry not replied sooner.
Had a chat with GT. They suggest that my IVA only has a little over two years left to run (which I'm a little confused about but hey.)
I am going to have a chat with a Variation Adviser in the new year who will review all my I&E and circumstances to see if the IVA can be moved forward.
Hopefully we can agree some more flexible allowances than I currently have.
The only thing is that they couldn't guarantee that creditors will not push for an additional extension to the IVA but they viewed that as unlikely.
Apparently my IVA is already due to end in month 81 and GT don't think the creditors will push it any further than that.
My only concern is that they do request an extension which pushes past the 3 years I would pay into a bankruptcy.
Should I just stress to the variation adviser that I will let the IVA fail if the creitors insist on an extension past that 3 year mark?
Hi All,
Sorry not posted for a while.
Variation meeting was yesterday and not looking good. TIX have rejected and they hold 43% of my debt. No reason has been given to me.
The variations team at GT are going to try to convince them in the next week but say a termination is looking likely.
I do have one point of contention however.
Since the call with GT's variation team in mid-January, I have never once been asked for a payment. They never requested it during the call either.
They are now saying I need to bring payments up to date and this could convince TIX to accept but that is not definite.
I have put away the first payment already and will have another when I get paid on Friday.
What is bothering me is that there is no guarantee TIX will accept, even if I pay, and GT are telling me I wont get the payments back?
Surely if there is still a very real chance of rejection and termination, these funds would be better being allocated to paying for any bankruptcy?
The worst part is if they'd have asked me for this earlier, I would have paid it.
Now, I don't like the idea of giving the funds over with no guarantee of success.
It would be appreciated if anyone could give me some advice on this.
Thanks for the input, Michael.
I would pay the funds immediately if it would guarantee acceptance except GT refuse to say that.
They wouldn't give me a reason for TIX rejection.
If they'd have told me this in January, i could have started paying at the start of February.
Now I really don't want to turn over £500-£750 (depanding on how many payments they want) with no guarantee of success and no possibility of receiving the funds back.
It would mean me having to save all over again to get the bankruptcy fee together.
Hope people can see my point. I'm not trying to be stubborn.
So far today, GT are not getting back to clarify things either which just adds to the frustration.
Drop Karol a line as she does seem to get things done. Put iva.co.uk Forum as the subject and she should be with you quickly. I do see your point concerning the bankruptcy costs and not wanting to waste any money.
Hi again,
GT have just got back to me and TIX are refusing to reverse the rejection.
They've stated they will only accept if there is a plan to address the arrears on the IVA.
Given that would, in GT's own words, take the payments to an unaffordable level, it looks like bankruptcy will be the only option.
Time to move on, I think.
Thanks for all your help.
Shaun so sorry to hear that. What an awful thing to.happen.
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
I'm sorry too Shaun. Hopefully bankruptcy won't be too painful for you and I wish you and your family all the best x By the time you are discharged at least your children will be very young and you will then have the chance to rebuild your lives without them knowing x
