www.iva.co.uk

Hi
I have just started the IVA process over the phone yesterday. As a single mother I am absolutely petrified about the whole process and the hassle I am going to get. I am also worried about my mortgage as i am due to renew, will I be able to do this without any hassle? A life without credit is not what I am used to but I can see no other way out of the mess I have got myself into.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.

Hi rugbygirl69 - welcome to the forum - you have come to the best place to get all the support and encouragement you need along the way!

Hopefully the company you are working with will have explained everything to you and ensures you have a sustainable budget in place so that you are not struggling to make your payment. If your mortgage is to be renewed anytime soon this sohuld have been taken into account when calcjulating what your payments will look like. It will be easier for you to renew your mortgage prior to an IVA being on your credit record as some lenders may not allow you to have certain products opnce it is on there but you will still be able to have a mortgage so don't worry about that.

Good luck with it and use your company for advice and support - they are there to help you....and of course you have all of us here too to rely on as well!

Regards,

Hi there and welcome to the forum

It probably doesn't feel like it right now, but you have probably overcome the hardest bit - making that first phone call. From now on your IP should be contacting your creditors to advise them of your intentions, and hopefully this will take away some of the hassle from you.

Renewing your mortgage should not be affected by the IVA, and once you get used to working within a set budget you should soon realise that you do not need to rely on endless forms of credit to get by.

Good luck with your application.

Welcome to the forum from me as well - hopefully your application will be a smooth one. It is hard to make that transition from credit to budgeting but paying cash is great, and it's brilliant when you have cash in the bank at the end of the month.

The forum is always here for you for any support and advice you may need.

Thank you for your advice, I am also concerned about the monthly payment they have quoted which is £250 a month for £15,000 of debt. Does this seem correct or would I be paying too much. It doesnt actually save me that much money and the bank account they have given me I have to pay £12.50 a month for the priveledge of using it and pay £1 for every cash withdrawel. This is the only account they have offered me and I am not sure if I am allowed to bank with anyone else. Help !!!

In a case where you would be paying in as much as you owe, you should certainly be considering whether a Debt Managment Plan is more suitable. And why pay £12.50 per month for a bank account, when there are lots of opportunities to get free banking elsewhere.

It may be sensible for you to get a second opinion from an insolvency practitioner who will make sure that you are fully appraised of all options before you commit to one particular route.

You certainly don't have to pay for a bank account and I would refuse that one! Co-op come highly recommended.

I agree that you should seek further advice before committing. Visit www.iva.com for a list of companies and reviews and give one or two a ring for free and impartial advice.

The payment they have proposed means you will appear to be paying the whole debt over the five years, however, you will not be paying any interest, and a chunk of that would go towards their fees. Not sure they have been fully up front in explaining the situation to you. As mentioned above, it would be best to have a word with a few IP's before committing yourself.

As for the bank account ..... for them to be "offering" a fee charging account seems a little "off".

To be perfectly frank, what you have said about the situation so far does not sit comfortably.

Please ring around.

It will be something like Thinkbanking Foggy - guaranteed acceptance but it does come at a cost and at least one company on here recommends them.

I am with Mel on this one - why pay £12.50 per month(£150 per year) for a bank account. fine if your going to use their worldwide travel insurance/mobile phone insurance etc frequently. Sit down and work out what you need from your bank account, then go elsewhere.Dont forget banks are pushing these accounts to make profit !!!.
Most people need DD/SO facilities and a ATM/Debit card, perhaps with the occassional cheque.

Maybe have a look at some comparison sites (you offer can even appy on line)

Thank you all for your advice. I have just called the company I am going through who are Express Debt Solutions and they have advised me to seek a different account. They did discuss a Debt Management Plan, but it would take longer, so I have decided to stick to the IVA. I am a little worried about calling other companies now as I have already cancelled my direct debits for this month. The company I am with told me that £250 per month is the minimum I can pay for an IVA, I am not sure how true this is.
Regards
Jo

If you have a look a previous posts - you will find that some IVA are run on less.

If you are not contractual obligated to a company it is worth ringing around, or use some of the IPs the other forum users recommend.

Either way it is abit commitment - so it has to be right for you

Best of Luck

It is not true at all - that benchmark is probably one which has been set commercially by the IP firm they are going to refer you to. Are they insolvency practitioners themselvesm or just packagers who refer cases to insolvency practitioners. I would check this out before you proceed - and don't be bullied into paying £250 per month if you cannot afford it.

meant to type - "a big"