www.iva.co.uk

Hi - a friend of mine has spoken to me asking if an IVA would be best for them as they know I finished mine lat year and are in a mess financially. To summarise they owe about £24k made up of unsecured loans, payday loans and credit cards and about half the debt is on cards actually in there mothers name where she has given him a card (in his name) for the account. He rents and is not married and had no assets. They wonder about bankruptcy but work for a bank so don't want to put their job in jeopardy. They also asked about a DMP but I have only ever read bad things about those and not sure why you would choose that over an IVA? I've told them to go see a debt councillor but no this site gives great advice and first hand experience so would welcome any advice I can share.

As a side note I finished my IVA lady year after 6 long years and wondered throughout that tine whether I could have just wrote to all my creditors up front and tried to come to an agreement before entering an IVA as it's along hard slog and I'm not sure always the best option?

Thanks

Hi Lloyd. The debts on the parents credit cards will not be included in any solution, other than as your friend's debt to his parents. The parents were and will be always responsible for paying the credit card company.

I would suggest he chats to a few companies first hand to explore his specific circumstances.

Finally -- writing to companies up front and offering a settlement sometimes does work if the debt is small and there are only one or two creditors --- they are not bound to stick to any agreement and you could come unstuck part way through, especially if they sell the debt on.

I would suggest that your friend makes contact with an insolvency practitioner, to get direct advice and support about all of the debt solutions currently available to them.

Thanks for the advice - I agree they should speak to an independent advice specialist and have recommended they do that.