www.iva.co.uk

I am a full time student nurse on bursary. However I am allowed to work,10, 20, & 48hrs when I am on clinical placement, school term, and on vacation respectively. I sometimes end up not working at all some weeks, depending on my school workload.

I am thinking of going on an IVA because I currently owe about £26,000. I have got some questions and things I will need to clarify.

1.How will my income from my part time job be calculated and do I have to declare my earnings every week since it is not regular?

2. I need to save up £4,000 within the next 6 months, this is my own share of the cost of relocating our kids to UK. We have been away from them for 6 years and the cost of maintaining them abroad is quite expensive compared to if they are here. I am not sure if I am allowed any saving while on IVA?

I am so scared of being advise to go bankrupt because without being told I can see that my expense is higher than my regular income. However, can still manage to get some amount left for my IVA, if my part-time job is considered.

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks

It will be difficult for you to commit to an IVA with such an irregular income, but presumably when you have finished your studies and are working on a full-time basis then you will have a regular source of income from which to fund monthly IVA payments.

Given your need to relocate your family, I would prioritise that at present and try to come to some form of informal arrangement with your creditors until your family have settled and you are working with a regular income.

Thanks Mel. Already spoke to a couple of them. A bank I am owing £600 overdraft has given me six months to get back to them if my situation improves.

Lloyds Tsb which I am owing £7,300 after going through my income and expenditure with me over the phone yesterday concluded that my expenses is well over my regular income(my bursary). I was advised to seek advice immediately. All charges on returned direct debits were stopped and I was advise to cancel all my direct debits.

My credit card company has sent me a form to list out all my income and expenditure.

Still have some outstanding that I have not contacted. However, a catalogue store that I am owing about £9,000 is looking at doing a repayment plan over 3 years maximum. The repayment plan being offered is as bad as my current repayment. I told the lady I spoke with that I can definitely not afford that amount. Her conclusion too is that I should seek advice.

Don't really know where to start from now.

Personally, I would suggest that you speak with the CCCS to see what they can suggest for you. As they are funded by creditors, it is possible that they can help you to arrange a temporary holding plan to enable you to be reunited with your family and conclude your studies.

Bankruptcy is an alternative, but this could hamper your ability to be reunited with your family, as you would not be allowed to save much money until you were discharged - and less so if you are caught with an income payments agreement or order as this would last for three years. Are there any friends or family who could help you at this time - perhaps to raise a modest sum of money to offer to creditors in full and final settlement?

Thanks Mel. £26,OOO is quite a huge sum of money I can't raise from anywhere at the moment. Lloyds TSB actually transferred my call to CCCS yesterday, the lady got my details and said she will call me back immediately. Unfortunately none of us remember that she will need my phone number. I will give them a call tomorrow.

Probably if my hubby can get a loan to finance relocating the kids. Just confused at the moment. I will give CCCS call tomorrow or maybe on monday.

You would not need to raise £26,000 for a full and final settlement. I have just got an IVA accepted for someone who owes £72,000 for £10,000 - so anything could be possible if you have access to funding.

That did raise my hope a bit. For my debt of £26,000, how much can I be looking at? Maybe I can start looking for ways of raising that. Usually how many weeks is one allowed to raise the sum?

... And what are the conditions I will need to meet to be qualified for that concession?

You would need to have the sum in place before you went for a full and final as it would have to be paid across either before, or no later, than the date of the meeting.

Thanks Kallis3, that is a bit tight.

What is the minimum disposable income required for me to go on IVA?

It all depends upon your individual circumstances and what you can afford to pay. Some companies, such as Cleardebt, do low DI IVA's.

You don't need the money to be paid in advance or that quickly after the creditors meeting. I give my clients up to 12 months to introduce the money and this is generally accepted by creditors.

Melanie, that sounds very good to me. I have replied your e-mail. Thank you.

Apologies Mel - I thought it had to be there straightaway.