First time poster on here, have been a reader of the forum for some time. Seems a really good/informative place.
I now accept that I need to do something about my finances but have a couple of niggling doubts that are stopping me from getting the ball rolling on a IVA. Thanks in advance for any help/advice that you guys can give me.
I am currently paying all my credit cards/finance etc basically by robbing Peter to pay Paul. In other words I will pay some with money that I have but then use my other cards to draw cash to pay other ones as basically I don’t have enough money to pay everything.
My first question is, will my credit card companies “freeze” all remaining credit that I have as soon as I apply for an IVA? I am concerned that if this happens and my IVA is not accepted then I will really be in trouble.
Also I am a self employed Taxi Driver and currently pay my annual car insurance (around £1500) in monthly instalments. Would this choice not be available if I am in a IVA?
Thanks again for any help/support/advice that you people can give me.
I've certainly been where you are with using cash from cards to pay other cards. It's not a good place to be.
Your card company will stop you getting credit once you apply for an IVA but the vast majority of us stop paying creditors in order to build up a contingency fund whilst applyiung for an IVA.
You need to speak to a professional as I've no idea what happens with your insurance although I'm sure this could be sorted. You need to speak to a company who are well versed with dealing with the self employed.
Visit www.iva.com for a list of companies and reviews and give one or two a ring for some free and impartial advice as to all the options open to you.
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.
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I havn`t started my IVA yet, I`m waiting for the creditors to approve it so I`ve more or less completed the first part which you are just at.
To be honest I would say you will have so many questions/doubts/fears (I certainly did and so did the rest on here) that the best place to start would be to approach a company and tell them everything that`s on your mind. They are very understanding. I`m with PayPlan but you will have seen others like Melanie Giles on here, there is a list if you want to approach a few - it wouldn`t do any harm.
They will be able to assess your circumstances and give advice on the choices available for tackling the situation.
With reference to the car insurance, you probably only have to open a new bank account with a bank not linked to any of the people you have debts with.
Good luck - the first step is the most important. Get a professional to listen to your story, we`ve all done it, and remember they`ve heard it all before and nothing will faze them.
Hi miltonkeynesboy - welcome to the forum - glad to read you have been finding the site helpful.
Yes, once the creditors know of your intentions your credit will be stopped but your payments to creditors as they curently will stop too so you should not need it anymore, however I understand your concern about what if an IVa is not accepted. Unfortunately no-one can give you guarantees but if you choose a company that will put forward the best proposal for you and be fully conversant with self employed clients you have the best chance. That is assuming what you are proposing is reasonable and creditors can see it is the best yuo can do.
It is a frightening thing to make a jump from the trap you're in to not relying on debt but trsut us all when you will feel hndred times better once you have at least spoken to a couple of experts to discuss your options.
Regards, Tina Shortland, Debt Advisory Manager for Melanie Giles at Debt Advice TV.
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I've dealt with a lot of taxi-drivers over the years, and I don't think I can recall any of them having a problem in paying their insurance in monthly instalments.
Your creditors will but a hold on your accounts, but in the unlikely event that they will not accept sensible IVA proposals you can then deal with them directly through a DMP.
