www.iva.co.uk

Hi All
Well we finally made it here to sunny Cyprus!!
Just a quick question, we get a living allowance over here which is quite a bit but as Cyprus is now under the EU it is also much needed.
As this is given to us to compensate our local living costs am I under obligation to count this into my income?
Also When paying back my monthly payments if we were to pay back the full dividend (33p in the £) before the end of the 5 year mark is that the end of the IVA or dod we continue paying until the end of the 5th year regardless?
Hope this makes sence, thanks for any info.

Hi,

Nice to see you again.

Not sure about the allowance, hopefully one of the experts can help with that.

You will carry on paying your IVA until the end though, even if you reach the 33p in the pound as your debts aren't written off until you either pay them back in full during the term of the IVA or you reach the end.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

HI Jan
Thanks for the message.
I thought that would be the case, trying to find a sourse to end with a full and final. Need to move on now.

good luck for the future, nice to here from you from cyprus spenmotherhen.ive just completed my iva with a full and final offer,hope you get yours sorted soon.put plenty of sun tan oil on.[:)]

I hope you manage to get one sorted. It would be nice to be settled there without the IVA hanging over your head.

Hi Melanie, have you ever come across dealing with IVA's abroad with your Service background etc?
Any help would be greatfully received.
Thanks very much for the messages it's great that you can be off this site for ages and when you need a question answering or some advice, there are always kind people to give you that and make your day feel so much more positive, thanks very much again x

You lucky person. I did an attachment at the diving school in Dhekalia a few years ago, and it was wonderful. Not sure if you are at that Sovereign Base area or the other one, but either way I am extremely jealous! Skiing in the morning on the Troodos and then sunbathing in the afternoon on the beach cannot be beaten anywhere in the world!

Your overseas allowance should firsly be used ot meet overseas expenses relating to your posting, but if there is any surplus then you may well have to pay some of it over by way of increaesed monthly payments. I remember the Tesco store on camp being very expensive, and local shopping opportunities are not great, so you may well find that you need to increase your allowances quite considerably.

Best think to do would be to have a trial budgeting period for say the next three months, and then you will have definite figures to discuss with the IP.

Thanks Melanie, we certainly are very lucky.
We are in the SBA and have yet not got a chance of doing any Diving but there are facilities at very low if not free available.
My concern is to not be left in a situation where we have little money to survive on. Back in the UK we had ways of earning cash by Ebay, car boots etc when we got short etc but that is not possible here so my review really needs to be accurate, especially with the cost of living.
Our IVA company have yet to support us in anyway within the 3 years so far with the way our arrangement had been dealt with. It is a tadge worrying.
I am sure it will all work out and will be fine in the end.
Only 2 years to go!!!!

Which firm are you with? It is a shame you are not receiving the correct amount of support - but we are here to help with anything specific. Keep an eye on the spending over the net couple of months, and dig in if they do not accept some of the allowances. The likelihood of them failing your case because you refuse to pay increased payments if they are deemed to be unaffordable is slim.

Hi Melanie we are with Kinsgate, never spoken to my IP and has changed 3 times in the last 3 years. They send me paperwork congratulating me on my fist 6 months, when we have been in for 3 years now. They have also lost past P60's and allsorts of other things.
I have kept all receipts where able over the past month for proof of spenditure. We are trying to live thriftily here but unfortunately there are no Asda own or Tesco products to help with budgetting.
My only other concern is, we are so far from home (UK), if anything arises, it is not a cheap fare home. Therefore I feel I will always need a reserve just incase it is needed.
We will sort out are income and expenditure and get the review sorted asap, that way I can relax for another year until the next one is due.
Thanks again x

If you do have a surplus after looking at your expenditure - and I realise this is looking like an unlikely prospect - perhaps your contingency fund can be increased to provide the reserve that you need?

Hopefully you won't experience resistance from your IP, especially when reason is applied?

Hi spenmotherhen and what a lovely place to live, i was born over in cyprus and have visited a few times, it is one of the most beautiful countries and i always feel sad when i have left. Good luck with sorting out your IVA, all those olives yum yum and houmous and taramasalata oh i must stop now otherwise my taste buds will be bursting lol.

spenmotherhen, i don't know if this will help because things may have changed out in Cyprus. I was fortunate to to be posted to Akrotiri for two and a half years. In that time i had a few problems back in UK and was granted compassionate flights there and back (no cost to you). Also if you or your dependants need to get back on a non emergency basis you could always book through the JSTC and get heavily subsidised flights back home-the cost then was £29 one way. As for extra money, the dependants (age permitting) used to work in the bars and shops on camp as a way of earning extra cash. It may be worth you getting settled in first and then maybe making a few enquiries if you start to struggle in the cash department. Best of luck to you and i sincerely hope you enjoy yourselves whilst you are out there.


Regards zim zim

Thanks very much for all your kind words!!!
We should be ok money wise, so long as we are able to keep our Local Living Allowance. We have worked out our money and it is tight but as ever is possible.

Thanks Zim Zim we are able to get flights back cheaply through the services but these unfortunately are not guaranteed outwards bound or return. Basically if there is space on the aircraft once all essential personel are boarded then you may be considered, which is great otherwise we have to fly civvy which obviously comes with a bigger flight ticket.

However I think if we can put some contingency aside then we can cover at least a chunk if needed.

I am pretty sure that if it was a compassionate reason like you say I am sure we would be flown home free of charge.

I'm afraid my children are all at school so no jobs available for them just yet!! Not sure we can even find any pocket money for them at the mo lol!!

All will be fine, if not at least I can go and bury my head in the sand lol!!!

Thanks again x

I'm glad things are working out for you, and I hope things go well in sunny Cyprus x