www.iva.co.uk

Hi, I'm new here, thanks for letting me join you. Me and my husband currently owe £37,000 and have a debt management plan through CAP. I was contacted by an insolvency practioner called Credit Fix. Has anyone heard of them? They said if we stayed on our DMP we could eventually have a charge against our house. I spoke to CAP who are dealing with our claim and she advised us to stay with the dmp as I'm a childminder which is self employed and the IVA could cost us £5000. I have had a visit today from the guy from credit fix and he hasn't pressured us to sign up with them, and what he said was really positive and made sense. We do indeed qualify and they said we could make monthly payments of £170 for 5 years or maybe 6 and they would take the first 2 months payment as their fee, what he called a set up charge. Does this sound right? They are registered with the government and have reg numbers.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You've found an excellent place for advice and support. You may well be eligible or an IVA and from one person coming to the end of their IVA I would like to say what an excellent debt solution it is.

What I woudl suggest to you is that you contact 2 or 3 other professionals and talk your circumstances through with them before proceeding. Not all companies charge up front fees and I'm with Melanie Giles who doesn't and comes highly recommended by myself.

Your payment would be fixed but with windfalls/assets and overtime the payments could vary all this will be explained by a good IP.

Try www.iva.com for a list of companies and do talk to 2 or 3 to ensure case specific, impartial free advice.

All the best. x

Welcome from me as well.

I'd just like to add to Lesleys excellent advice that the IVA fees come out of your monthly payment so you won't even notice that you're paying them.

It sounds like creditfix are going to charge you an upfront fee - there is no need to pay this fee many companies do not charge these fees.

Speak to a few companies before you make a decision who to proceed with

An IVA could well be a good way forward for you - and despite the advice you have been provided with by your DMP company, the costs actually come out of the contributions you pay over - so in the IVA you pay £170 per month for five/six years - with the DMP you carry on paying until you have been paid in full - so 18 years.

All IP firms are "registered with the government" - I assume you mean that they hold a Consumer Credit Licence which they are required to by the Office of Fair Trading. How did they get hold of your details as a matter of interest - did you consent to your details being passed to this firm?

Thanks for your replies everyone. I will check with a couple of other ip firms, I take it looking them up online is the way to do it? Melanie, the firm got us through Experian, we did give our consent as I was looking up debt solutions a year ago and spoke to about 3 companies and filled in an online survey. They do hold a credit licence, I'm terrified of going with the wrong company, so big decisions ahead of us again.

Xanthe -- pop on over to www.iva.com there you will find a list of reputable companies, with reviews. Chat to a couple on the phone, to compare advice and see who you have a "feel" for.

Also cruise around the forum where you will see how the companies interact with us and how we are getting on with them.

The choice to enter into an IVA can be daunting, and sometimes it is a good idea to seek a second or a third opinion before you decide whether it is in fact the right option and which is the right firm to reprsent you.

Knowledge in these matters can often be powerful, so I would have a good hunt around the forum to see what others are discussing about their own IVAs, and also have a look at various firm's websites to find out more information before you finally commit.

Thanks everyone, will look at that website and also surf here. [:)]

Hi and welcome

Take your time and explore all options and several companies/experts before making a decision

Regards