the best thing I have ever done!

[suzz]

Hello, new to this site, my husband and I are now are at our wits end to try to get some information on iva's so can any one recommend a company who will do a meeting face to face instead of over the telephone, in the northern area, (we did contact accuma on friday 29/12/06 at approx 10.30am and was advised that someone will call us back within the next 15mins we are still waiting for that phone call), there are personal reason why we wish to have a face to face meeting. [:(]

[kezza]

Hi and welcome,

Contact any of the companies who post on this site and they will be able to advise. I can only say that at this time of year i would imagine they are inundated with people in our situation. hang in there and i am sure you will be sorted soon

kezza

[neverending]

Hi
Give Accuma another call as they are a bona fide company and as Kezza rightly states are probably very busy with new enquiries.Also the Xmas break will not help.
Regards

[suzz]

Thank you both very much for the responce, can you shed some light on what it's like living with an iva, having read some of the posts it sounds as though you live hand to mouth every month, and have not much of a life, or am i reading too much into things. Sue [:(]

[neverending]

Suzz,hello again and a warm welcome.
Life in an IVA IS hard and you need to realise this before going down this route.I have been in an IVA for three years and this Xmas has been the hardest ever,however we all laugh at the situation that we are in and accept it.On the plus side is the sense that at the end life will be soooooooooo sweet and the good things that we all took for granted before are so much better now[a chinese take away is a real treat].We are all off to FLorida at the end of next week and this has been achieved by really going without all year AND at Xmas,the kids agreed to this as they all wanted the holiday.I have also been lucky and won some travel vouchers in a works incentive.[Plus I have a wonderful father in law ]
My point is that it is really upto you and your partner as to how you manage during an IVA.The most important thing is to make sure that your income and most importantly your expenditure is realistic.You must list as much as is reasonably possible because when you start the IVA ball rolling you sometimes try to kid yourself that you can manage on x amount when in reality you can for a couple of months but after that it will seem like a prison sentence and life will be almost unbearable.
So think long and hard about what you realistically need to "live" on and can you do this for 5 years ?? Also an IVA will test your relationship to the full.
Hope I don,t sound to scary,just want to give you real advice and experience.
Good Luck

[tammy]

Ive been in my iva for almost 3 yrs now and it is difficult as you cannot have things yor want or may be used to, but I found that the company I have my IVA with where very helpfull when setting up and made sure all my expenditures were written in. Like I never thought to put nhs prescriptions down as I only get my meds once every 3 months but thats almost £30 at a time and during an IVA everything counts. I was allowed some mod cons such as my car but petrol service mot and poss repaires all had to be written in. I use my car to get to and from work. Also I have 2 cats and they also allowed for that, so its not all bad but you must learn a lot of self control as being even just 1p overdrawn during your IVA can invalidate your terms and set the ball rolling towards bunkrapcy!!
But I gues If I could not repay as much as I can the car and possibly the cats would have to been rehomed.....
I had to give up horse riding as that cost me abut£80pm and that upset me ever so much, but hey in 2 yrs I can take it up again and will appreciate it a lot more.

Good luck

[Skippy]

Hi Suzz, welcome to the forum!

I would definitely try Accuma again - they dealt with my IVA and have been brilliant.

I am only 3 months into my IVA, and it is hard, but I am looking on the bright side - in 57 months I will be debt free, and my attitude is there is always someone worse off than me. My friends and family know about the IVA ( I know most people don't tell others but I really found this helped me to cope) and to be honest, I laugh about the situation. It's not funny, but if I don't laugh I'll cry.

Be honest with what you need to live on, and don't let yourself be bullied into paying more than you can afford. Most importantly, don't pay any upfront fees unless you have it in writing that you will get the money back (less fees) if the IVA is not accepted. Neither of those things happened to me, but it has happened to others on the forum.

Good luck, and keep posting!

Three down, fifty seven to go until freedom!

[iva experts]

Hello!

I agree with all who posted, it is very important to be realistic with the monthly expenditure you provide. This is especially if you have children as there can be school excursions or school meals to account for.

However in saying this, your I.P deals with creditors every day and will know and advise what the creditors are likely to accept.

Your monthly expenditure is included in the calculation which determines the amount you can afford to pay back to your creditors. This is called disposable income and is calculated as follows:

Your monthly income -
Your monthly general living expenses
=
Your monthly disposable income.

Hope this information is of use

Regards. IVA Experts

[Sarah]

Hi

I have been in an IVA since June and it really was the best thing I have ever done! There are so many people out there that continue to struggle and get more and more down as the time goes on and worse get more and more into debt. Once I entered into the IVA it was a weight off my mind! Yes you do have to be very good with yor money from now on but it does make you appreciate things so much more! And just think at the end of it you will be compeltely debt free and have a fresh start and just think how well you will be able to manage your money by that point! And the past 6 month for me have flown by.

I went with the company Blair Endersby and I really couldn't fault them they couldn't have been more helpful and supportive through oyt the whole thing.

I hope that this helps!

[suzz]

Hi all thanks for the replys, have been in contact with Accuma and passed on all our details, the lady @ Accuma said she will raise the paperwork and get it inthe post to us and we should recieve it today, i think it will possibly come tomorrow, my query is that when my husband was speaking to her she mentioned that SHE will do all the paperwork, when my husband mentioned an IP she advised that we do not need to contact one, can you expain why she said this.

Thanks

Sue[:u]

[Skippy]

Hi Suzz, I dealt with Accuma and all my initial paperwork was dealt with by a very nice man called Andrew. He was always available to speak to and dealt with my IVA application until it was approved, when it was passed to another department. Again I have one contact who has been very helpful and has always been available. I have never actually spoken to my IP, although I could have done if I wished.

I can't praise Accuma highly enough, especially after reading about some of the companies mentioned on this website.

Good luck with the application, and let us know how it goes.

Three down, fifty seven to go until freedom!

[Oliver]

I believe that IPs at Accuma have "Drafters" which work for them. These Drafters will prepare a case for the client and the IP will then review the case and finally rubber stamp it before sending the case to the Creditors. You probably have been dealing with one of the Drafting team. I am sure you will be able to speak to the IP personally if you wish.

Best Regards
Oliver

Thomas Charles Ltd: Experts in all things IVA
www.thomascharles.com