IVA

[IVAquestions]

NC.

DH and I are in a lot of debt, over £20,000. I am currently with PayPlan and pay the minimum they will accept as my DH has been out of work.

DH is now working so I need to get a handle on things and was wondering if an IVA would be the way to go. Has anyone had one that can offer me advice? Do they take control of your money like in bankruptcy? Will we be allowed some spare money each month as 'spends'

I'm grateful for any advice

Bump

Hi I've been in an IVA for three years now and have two to go (woohoooo) its was the best decision for me as I just couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. After 5 years of payments the debt is wiped off.
You make a monthly payment and hey review your income and expenditure every 6 months. They don't control your money but they do like to know on your expenditures sheet where it's all going.
Since having children too they lowered my payment for me too from 200 a month to 120 as my priorities changed.
It's definitely worth looking in to xoxo

Thank you for replying.

So when you filled out your income and expenditure details how did the agreed monthly payment come to be? Did they tell you to pay the £200? Are you allowed money left over or do they take anything spare at all that you have?

Do you have to show payslips and banks statements etc?

Sorry for all the questions!

A decent iva provider will go through the financial statements with you and do a budget. I would advise against an iva unless you have your own income as it is relying on somebody else's income. You cannot do a joint iva. A lot can happen in 5 years. Better to have a dro rather than an iva providing you don't have a mortgage and have nothing else to ringfence and your individual debt is less than 15k, I.e. not joint. Discharge after 1 year.

Use grant thornton if you must do an iva, they dont have upfront fees.

My DH was in an IVA but when he got to the end of the 5 years they told him he needed to pay for another year on top. To make it worse they dragged it on for another 2 so he was bound by it for 7 years in the end.

It affected things when we came to apply for a mortgage as well so I would definitely pay more into a debt management plan than less into an IVA. You could come into some money and pay off the debt management plan but if you were in an IVA they would want to take all the money.

Do your research, what DH thought was an easy fix turned out to be a nightmare.

Thank you for the info everyone

They basically ask for every single thing you need to buy for a month. So basically rent/mortgage, bills, car, petrol, shopping. But what they do is take into account what you may pay yearly for things such as MOT, service, new tyres, maybe how often you go to the hairdressers, dentist etc. So they count like a couple of pounds in every month for them kind of things too so you budget. They won't take your last penny but just be a bit savvy with how much you need for shopping and things 😉 then if you don't spend it all that's money for you isn't it. They basically say they can't allow you an amount to save but if you're careful with that money say you have for groceries and have left over, then it's yours to do what you want with.
They don't look at bank statements, mine every 6 months ask for payslips to see if my wages have changed. Other than that, I pay a monthly payment and I don't hear from them

Have a look at the Stepchange website. You can complete an online assessment and they will advise you what the best solution is for you and your circumstances. It's quite in-depth so you need at least 30 minutes or so to do it and details of all your income and expenditure.