www.iva.co.uk

Hi. I owe £10,500 to three credit cards. I fell behind in payments in November 2006 and have since buried my head in the sand. I have letters and notices unopened. Trouble is i live in ireland on a salary of only €29,000 euro. I am a lone parent and not in receipt of any maintenance.

I have applied for several loans equivalent to the sterling amount but have been declined. Is my only option bankruptcy - I don't know how this will affect me or what it involves. I am desperate now to the point where i cannot sleep eat or enjoy life.

I have ignored the problem for so long. i don't even know who to turn to. Can you help or advise me? i am presently looking at the explaination of an IVA. many many thanks.

Hi Hils

Welcome to the forum, You wouldn't be able to take out an iva as your debts are below 15k. Do you know what your disposable income is after paying out all your expenses? This excludes payments to creditors. It may be possible to enter a DMP if you have enough surplus.

Hello Hils,

As pixie rightly says there are other options than an IVA.

Many people who no longer live in the UK manage UK debts in different ways.

How much do you think you might be able to afford to offer towards the debts each month?

Are you an Irish citizen or are you a British ex-pat?

And do remember that bankruptcy is actually quite rare in the Irish Republic, probably due to the fact that there is a 12 year discharge period.