www.iva.co.uk

I am in an IVA and my wife not. The IVA review have asked to see our bank account statements as it is a joint account my wife has said that I cannot send as it would be a breach of The Data Protection Act and she will not consent. The reason behind this is that she has been working all hours for some extra cash to pay for a holiday and replace our ageing car and does not want this extra income taken in to account - she has worked very hard and does not want to see it taken in to account. Can she refuse me to show our joint bank account under The Data Protection Act?

If the IVA is yours, then your wifes overtime should be hers to do with as she pleases.

As long as she is paying her fair share into the household expenses there shouldn't be a problem.

However, if you don't send in your bank statement that may cause trouble with your review.

I am not sure about data protection but I am curious as to why your IP wants your bank statements. If you provided your proof of earnings and details of any changes in expediture that should be sufficient.If they wish to check that there is no overdraft get a black marker and score everything out except the balance.

Ultimately your IP cannot take your wife's extra income so it may be worth speaking to the case manager and explaining that your wife does not want them to see her bank statements and your IP firm may forget about it. If they insist advise that you will open an account in your sole name which they can have access to.

There are several companies who require bank statements as well as pay slips etc.

Perhaps they want to make sure that you haven't had a large win on the lottery and not told them about it? Or had any other large sums from somewhere?

Thank you all - there does seem to be a divergence of opinion as exactly what the IP can ask for. The fact is that she pays the majority of the bills as my only income is my small pension.

Speak to your IP and tell them that your wife doesn't want it to go, as Michael suggests, and see what they say.

If you do send your statements then be sure to HIGHLIGHT what is yours and BLANK out what is your wive's. and explain this to your IP

Michael the IVA Protocol states:

Income
7.3 Income should be verified by means of 3 months of pay slips, or a suitable equivalent for the self-employed, and bank statements (in the case of weekly pay slips, it is sufficient to check a selection to cover the 3 month period). In the absence of pay slips (e.g. if they have been lost), then bank statements should be checked.

If you can send your payslips in I can't see why you'd have to send the statements.

I'm sure this will be resolved by a phonecall explaining your wife's viewpoint ( I'm with her 100% on this).

I don't have to send bank statements, just payslips and my P60. Hubby gets Incapacity Benefit as well as his pension, and they've not even asked to see his statements from that.

Again thank you all. To keep the peace my wife has agreed for the bank statements and her payslips to go to the IP. It is a shame that there is so much inconsistency regarding IP's and their requirements.

In reality there is not - it is sometimes the case that certain IP's are not clued up as well as others. Glad your wife has made a good decision. Good luck.

I can understand your wife's point of view, I wouldn't want my bank statements being sent if I wasn't in an IVA.

Good luck with your review x

But what happens if the other spouse who is in the arrangement arranges for money to be paid into the other spouses account to avoid his/her responsibilities?

I can see it from both points of view - some people might want to hide money, but similarly, the other person might not want their financial affairs viewed by others.

It's a bit of a 'Catch 22'.