www.iva.co.uk

Impact of illness
I started an IVA with my wife in Dec 2010 and we were doing fine until I became ill last year and eventually diagnosed with a long term illness.
I was off sick for 9 months, for the first 6 months I was on full pay, so no impact on contribution to IVA.
From Sept 2013 I went onto half pay and from then and to date I havent been able to make any further contributions.
I began a phased return to work in Nov but only for 6 hrs a week, which I managed to increase to 12 hrs a week in Dec but unlikely to increase much more than that in the comming months.
Although I want and need (financially) to increase my hrs a lot further, realistically I know this is going to be a long term gradual return to work with no guarentee that I will actually return to a full 37 hr working week.
I have kept my IP informed at each step and they have been very understanding and I havent felt pressured in any way.
My wife and I are extremely worried though and not sure what the likely outcome is going forward.
I am waiting for a response from my IP on my latest annual review but dont really know what to expect.
The annual report to the creditors has just been issued which records that we have paid in over £21K (£24K including PPI reclaimed) against an original expectation of £33K but later increased to £45K when my wife got a job.

Are we likely to fail the IVA if my health doesnt allow me to return to work?
How long will they give me to get well enough to begin contributions again?
What options may be open to us to allow us to complete the IVA?
Thanks

Hi Gareth - good to hear from you.

When my fife "hit the fan" GT were very accommodating and, in the end, it became obvious that we could not continue paying the IVAs. Luckily, by virtue of PPI and early extra payments, we weren't far short of our original expected dividend. So they put forward a F&F offer of payments made to date, which, to my surprise, the creditors accepted.

It might be too early for this to be put forward, but certainly worth considering. Forcing yourself to return to work faster for the sake of the IVA could well have completely the opposite effect! And, in the meantime it is one stress you could do without.

Hi Foggy good to talk to you again and thanks for your response.

I'm hoping we can sort something out, the alternatives (BR) arent very attractive!

Yes, stepping up from 6 to 12 hrs a week was quite a step for me and any further increases will be very gradual over quite some period of time. I have improved my condition over the year but definately dont want a relapse and return to previous state or worse.

Hope things are working out for you.

Thank you Gareth. Things definitely improved with the issue of my completion certificate !!

Little Foggy and I are rebuilding our lives together in a totally male environment --- leaving the toilet seat up at will and the iron hasn't been out of the cupboard for nearly a year !!

Sounds like bliss!!! lol
Take care.

Gareth - definitely try the payments made to date in full and final settlement option. It very much has legs from what you have disclosed here.

(BTW Foggy - is there something in the male gene which makes you allergic to use of said appliances. Mr G also seems to have said aversion these days - which was definitely not the case when we were both in H K Forces as he would not let me near his uniform for love nor money!)

Gareth ... Following Mel's advice and seek a full and final paid to date .... You have clearly tried everything you can, and your continued health issues need to be focused on without the worry of your iva.

Men and ironing boards simply don't go together Mel ....Mr J hasn't picked one up for years either!

Thanks for the feedback Mel and luluj, I hadnt even considered F&F as an option at this stage. I will take that up with GT once they get back to me on my annual review.

Any thoughts on any alternatives?

Lol about ironing! On the extremely rare occassions when the thought of an iron even got close to crossing my mind (which isnt a long journey anyway), I would first consider chucking a small amount of shirts into the tumble drier, as miraculously, the iron fairy has in the past got stuck in and ironed it all before I empty it. Failing that - wait until the wife does it x

Hi Gareth, I wouldn't think there are any alternatives if you no longer have any disposable income to support your IVA, other than bankruptcy or reinstating higher payments and extending the term once you are able to work more hours (if?) and this in turn increases your disposable income again?

We are looking at a payments made to date scenario as I myself am off sick from my job at the moment due to severe back problems which can't be treated, I am hoping to be back at work next week but this is going to be an ongoing problem that is not going to allow me to continue in my current job, trying to find something less physically demanding is hard aswell, but we're looking at this to see if it's viable and at least it will then allow me to leave my current job altogether whilst I find something else

Thanks Lem, I guess you are in a similar position to me. Have you requested a F&F based on payments to date? Who are you with?
We are worried that they may default the IVA and then we would be back to the pre-IVA situation where we will be dealing direct with creditors again but not have "any" disposable income to pay any of them. I think I would feel a little better if I knew what all the possible outcomes are (good and bad) and their impact that way we can prepare ourselves.