www.iva.co.uk

This may sound familiar, income gone down, debts starting to get out of control, wife doesn't really know the full extent of the debts and I can't see a way out at the moment

Hello and welcome. There is usually a solution to be found. Have a chat with a few firms ( you can find a listing at www.iva.com ). You need to speak to a few to see who you gel with and to compare advice.

Initial calls are free and without obligation and a chat can greatly assist you with getting all your ducks in a row.

Are all the debts in your name only or are they in both names ? If they are in both names you might be looking at a joint iva

Being single I don't really know, but I suspect hiding an iva from your wife would be difficult

Martin

Hi and welcome to the forum. As others have said take the advice of the experts, the link above can be a good starting point and to add to that look around the forum and read about different companies.

It would be the best thing in the end to explain to your wife about the extent of the debt as your lifestyle may need to change to accommodate the IVA, however having said that it is perfectly workable and you can have a life in an IVA.

Take that first step have a chat with some professionals and things may well look clearer. All the best and any other questions just ask.

I also hid a lot of our money worries from my husband, I lost sleep, always on edge and worried if he got home before me and opened the post! In the end I had a breakdown. One night I sat and told him everything, he was really cross at the start cos I'd buried my head in the sand BUT could also see how I'd been juggling robbing peter to pay paul. My personal advice would be to sit and talk it all through with her, explain how things are spiralling and that you need some support from her, I'm certain she will be supportive after the initial shock however I have a feeling that deep down she will already know.
An IVA isn't an easy get out option, some days its like a bag of spuds you carry around each day. That said the most immense feeling I've ever felt was the day ours was approved. Such a huge weight was lifted knowing that we wouldn't receive 'those letter' or calls and that we could live more comfortably than we had been knowing we were paying a portion of our debts back.
Like foggy says do some research to find the right company for you. We went with a recommendation and to this day wished we'd have looked further into it.
All the best

Are there any companies to avoid? I've made a couple of enquires and one seemed to want to propose an iva there and then

One man's meat is, indeed, another man's poison. Whilst you do not want to rush headlong into things (and an IVA might not be the right thing) you also need something done sooner rather than later.

Personally I would avoid the larger firms. Although they have many thousands of happy clients, you can always get lost in the crowd.

A quick look around the forum will throw up a couple of good candidates.

There are a few companies on here. After joining the forum I have had lots of supportive advice from Melanie Giles. Although I cannot give a recommendation as we are with a larger firm, I can give you the facts of what I have read. Melanie is known for giving advice on here long into the early hours, she also has a straight forward way to answering your queries and also has a great team working along side her. I wish I had known about her before we entered our IVA.

I can recommend Melanie's colleague at PJG Sue Clay, she has been straight forward and contactable during my IVA (certificate due to come in post tomorrow!)

Martin

He there from me as well.

I am assuming that you are not yet engaged in any particular debt solution, but are starting to feel that you are struggling to meet the payments to your creditors as well as maintaining a decent standard of living.

Taking some professional advice from an insolvency practitioner now, would at least give you options to consider, and it may be best that you do this before sharing the extent of your financial difficulties with your wife - although ultimately at some stage you are likely to need to update her, as the ongoing support of a spouse is generally vital to the success of a recovery plan.

Are many companies open or willing to offer full and final settlements realistic to what we could afford

Most definitely. I got a case accepted by creditors last year where they accepted half a penny in the pound in full and final settlement - so really anything is possible.