IVA advise

[Cantthinkofonenow]

Hi all, I wasn’t sure where to post this.
I rang step change today, I have 6k debt and don’t have a lot of money so I’ve been struggling for a long time so finally gave them a call. They advised me to get an IVA, there were other options but they weren’t appropriate. Has anyone got any experience with an IVA? I was on the phone to them for a good 2 hours going through everything and they gave me lots of information but I’ve read other threads on here about people being against them.
I’ll have to pay £100 a month for 6 years, this is a much more manageable option for me and my credit score is ridiculously low at the minute anyway so I’m not worried about that. What have your experiences been like?

If you read my other posts, you will see I am quite clear that I doubt an IVA is the right solution for the OP.

I was merely dispelling the myth that IVAs are only for those who own property or other expensive assets.

Personally, I'd take a DMP or bankruptcy (assuming she doesn't meet the DRO criteria for disposable income) over an IVA in OP's situation, but that doesn't detract from the fact IVAs can be a good solution for non-property owners.

If someone like the OP owes £6k what benefit do does she gain by adding £4k of IP fees for her to pay back too?

Oh, and she won't be paying £4k of fees on top of her £6k debt. She'd pay £6k in total with £4k going to fees and £2k to creditors.

I agree that it seems pointless to do so when she can pay in full with a DMP at the same rate and in the same time frame, but in speaking in general terms it's really important that misinformation such as this is cleared up as all it does is cause more confusion!

that doesn't detract from the fact IVAs can be a good solution for non-property owners

The main advantage of an IVA is to protect property. If you don't have a property, or a job that you'd lose if you went bankrupt, an IVA is rarely the best solution.

The main beneficiary is the insolvency practitioner or middleman who took a cut from the IP. Therefore it is likely that, if 80% of people in IVAs aren't homeowners, they've been misadvised.

They are good, they got my dad out of significant debt but just be aware that you will not be able to get credit of any kind for the duration and for some time afterwards. No credit cards, overdrafts, phone contracts, buying things on finance or pay monthly offers.

Correct, should have said partner’s proportion.

Hi, thanks for the info. On my proposal for the IVA, they have put the full amount of the joint debt for the c/tax. I queried them to see how much / how frequent they will pay out the IVA repayment monthly amounts towards this, and asked how much my partner will need to make an arrangement for - they could not confirm this & advised to speak to the council tax department. This debt (joint c/t) is the largest one on the creditor list & so it’s probably not going to beneficial going through the IVA to sort that if my partners still jointly / several liability for. Thanks for your help

council tax really is a priority debt as non payment is a prisonable offence

Yes it’s been a complete worry for me, I only work part time currently but still been eligible for the full amount of tax, which is quite a high band due to the area. My partner is of long term Ill health & unable to work cm& so it’s been a struggle, bmi have managed to maintain a payment arrangement for the debt until more recently I realise it left me falling behind on the ongoing current bill, as. However I will look to arrange a more long term affordable plan with the tax department.

Stepchange suggested a DMP but not an IVA, however the council debt would not be eligible to go into that apparently. I think I can sort the debts myself with the advice available through Stepchange etc.

Does anyone know if I can cancel an IVA if it’s not yet gone through the creditors meeting but proposal was signed? Thank you.

It was a scam confirmed by the real national debt line.
I’ve phoned the bank and other placed but I’m scared because I sent screenshots of debts, bills, banks statements

Sorry to hear that but better you know now before anything was signed or money paid.
The 'real' national debt line should be able to give you advice and reassurance about the scammers having some of your information but you sound like you're doing the right things.
Hopefully you're also able to speak to them to get some proper honest debt advice.
Good luck.

In England and Wales insolvency law, as it stands, there is an element of 'customer choice'.

There will always be scenarios where both an IVA and bankruptcy are viable options. For whatever reason (and I don't agree with those reasons fwiw), many people still place massive stigma on being bankrupt and therefore they view an IVA as a much more attractive option. That is their choice.

It's also important to note that the up front fee of £680 seems like an unsurmountable task to raise to many people in today's climate, even with the option of paying in instalments (the fear is the continued pressure from creditors whilst they do so). Whilst the fees in an IVA are much higher, they are not up front, which is more attractive to some.

DMPs, meanwhile, have the disadvantage of not being legally binding so the creditors can pull out at any time. They can also be misadvised and last an eternity.
The FCA doesn't publish any data on DMPs so it's impossible to make a fair comparison on whether they are any better overall.

Please please stop spreading misinformation based on your own opinions, it doesn't help anybody.

Sorry to hear that but well done for taking the time and not being pressured today.

Yes you’ve shared a lot of info but you’ve spoken to the bank and you’re aware - keep an eye on your bank account activity and flag anything suspicious asap. I doubt there will be anything - I don’t think it was a scam as such but rather a debt management firm trying to get you to sign up for their services. So if you didn’t sign, they won’t be taking payments and I doubt they will do anything further. Watch out for more emails from them asking you to sign up. Don’t engage.

Thanks! I’ve been on the phone since 9 am sorting everything. I’ve been on the phone for 3.5 hours talking to someone from National debt line about all my outgoings and what I’ve got coming in. We’ve gone through every transaction coming up with a plan. I’m still on hold to them now as I’m ringing them back. It’s nearly 3pm so a good 5 hours has been spent sorting my life out today. The bulk of my debt is with my energy provider and I have a plan in place with them something Called you pay, we pay so they match any money paid to them for the next 6 months so it’ll definitely help.

Well done! You'll feel amazing once something is in place.

The non-free companies are awful, I was quoted £100 per month for a DMP which was already pretty tight, it turned out that £50 of that was their fees alone. I blocked them once I found that out and went through the companies directly to arrange payment plans.

I did something similar to you with my energy bills, I buried my head in the sand for so long and was so amazed that they didn't yell at me and came up with a solution for me. The help is definitely out there, it's just tricky to avoid the profit makers along the way who don't have your best interests at heart.

I am on a DMP, but need to move on to an IVA or go bankrupt. They were both options years ago, but I went for the DMP, which in hindsight was not the wisest choice as I will be paying it off for many many years.

I have a car on HP that I need to keep for work. My understanding is that in my case, an IVA would be more suitable? I have a significant amount of debt.

Really because I’m on an IVA and they don’t restrict my personal buys, I’m still allowed on holiday as long as it’s not an extravagant one. I pay £143 per month as that’s what I listed I could afford. They frown about online gambling such as lottery etc, but as long as they aren’t big frequent amounts they don’t care. The only thing that was put to me when arranging it was if I were to receive a large sum of money I was to let them know.

i renewed mine and DS phone contracts whilst being on an iva as well as a new contract for DS ipad as he’s under 18 and has pip so wants to use that to pay. That was the first thing I checked whilst under advisement.

I don’t think it was a scam as such but rather a debt management firm trying to get you to sign up for their services. So if you didn’t sign, they won’t be taking payments and I doubt they will do anything further. Watch out for more emails from them asking you to sign up. Don’t engage.

Yes I agree. When I nearly got sucked in I had given them personal details to check my credit report then I realised it wasn't the real Step Change so ended the call. I'm in the Martin Lewis credit club so just kept an eye on my credit report and 4 years later it's been fine.