www.iva.co.uk

i have been in an IVA with payplan for around 7 months and everything has been great. However i have just received a letter from Dudley council saying i must pay them back £571.00 oustanding arrears directly as this cannot be included in an IVA as it is public and not personal debt. Dudley council however seem to have agreed to the iva and are named on my chairmans report. i opted to pay £120 per month when i started my iva as i had no objections to paying back as much as i could of what i borrowed, however if i have to start paying dudley council £15.00 per week in arrears and they are also being payed through the iva surely they will get all the money i owe and more back ? secondly if payplan have set up my iva incorrectly i was hoping it could be modified down to £100 per month in light of current events. to be honest im somewhat confused how the dudley m council could agree to the iva and then say its not possible on public debts, any advice for when i call payplan tomorrow would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, not sure on this but your IP will be best placed to answer and maybe some of our expert posters will be able to offer advice. My thoughts are if they've agreed to it, it's agreed but I may be very wrong on that point.

Of course its a personal debt -- for which YOU are personally liable and they are bound by the IVA as long as the debt IS admissable ( which you should check with your IP -- but, as far as I am aware, it is likely to be).

It might be a debt TO the public purse, but then so are taxes, which get included in IVA's !

Is it a crisis loan? I have one of those as they are not included in the IVA but my ip has made an allowance for the payment.

Hi,
No its not a crisis loan its simply paying back a rent / council tax overpayment.

I suggest that you get your IP to have a sharp word with Dudley Council, as they clearly do not understand how IVAs operate. The debt appears to have been treated correctly, and they are thus bound.

Hi Melanie,
The council are saying due to a new legislation passed last week IVA's no longer cover council ( public ) debt , and so i need to contact my IVA company and have them sort it out ( i have done and am awaiting a reply ) ( IE: they will have to remove dudley council from the iva! ) i cant see that someone can simply nullify a written contract because they decide to ! i can understand that people entering into an iva after the new policy was released being affected but surely they would not just be able to change what they signed ! .

Regards

I'd be interested to hear what this new legislation is. I have not heard about any changes within the profession, unless I have missed something.

Hope you get this sorted and if you could update the forum I'm sure it will help others. all the best.

Hi

That is news to me also

Will be interested to read how you get on with this problem via Payplan

Regards

Thanks for the advice everyone, i will most definitely keep every informed of the outcome.

Even if there is new legislation, I doubt that it would apply retrospectively. With my cautious hat on, are you sure that it the Council writing to you and not some scammer who has got hold of your details?

definitely not a scammer, as i have phoned the council and had verbal confirmation.

Like those above I have not heard about any changes to the position to debts in insolvency. Several times councils have tried claiming that they fall outside IVA's and each time they have had to back down in the face of the facts and law.
A simple fact to point out to the council is that HMRC have agreed they are fully bound for tax debts, so why would council tax be any different.
I would love to see what legislation they are trying to rely on, but I am sure your IP will be able to bring them round.

Hi

Good point about HMRC debt, why should council tax be any different ?

Regards