Have you heard that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) can help people write off a lot of their debts?
That probably sounds great – and it’s not wrong… but it is only a small part of the story.
IVAs are complicated five or six year inflexible legal contracts – which sometimes get extended for even longer.
You need to know what might go wrong before you start one, not find out the hard way later.
Contents
What is an IVA?
IVAs are arrangements with your creditors to pay off unsecured debt such as loans, credit cards and overdrafts.
You can also include government debts such as tax debts and benefit overpayments. There is a full list in Insolvency and types of debt.
Secured debts (mortgages, secured loans, HP and car finance) cannot usually be included in an IVA.
An IVA is a type of insolvency, like bankruptcy, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is a legally binding contract between you and your creditors.
In theory, the contract can say almost anything, but there is a standard format that is used in most cases. It works like this:
- you make a monthly payment to your IVA firm for five years (some creditors insist this is six);
- the IVA firm takes its fees (large! at least £3,500!) and divides the rest between your creditors;
- if you have a house with equity, you have to try to release equity in the last year to pay into your IVA;
- at the end of your IVA, all the remaining debts are written off.
All this is set out in your IVA proposal, which your creditors vote to accept. 75% of those voting have to approve your proposal.
Of you have one very big creditor, this effectively gives that creditor a veto on whether you can have an IVA.
If they agree, your IVA is then legally binding on all your creditors, not just those that voted for it.
What happens during an IVA
All interest is frozen during an IVA and you will not be hassled or taken to court by your creditors.
Every year there will be an IVA review when you have to supply your bank statements and payslips to be checked.
If your circumstances improve during the IVA you will have to pay extra into the IVA – often 50% of a pay increase or the whole of any money you inherit or any PPI refund you get.
If things get worse, you may be able to suspend payments for up to 9 months, or longer if your creditors agree. These missed months are then added on to your IVA term.
Sometimes it is possible to rescue a failing IVA but big problems, especially in the first few years, may well mean your IVA fails.
More than a quarter of IVAs fail – often people were too optimistic at the start that they could manage 5 or 6 years of these payments.
If you have equity in your house, you are likely to have to remortgage, towards the end of your IVA. If this is not possible, your payments are usually extended for another year. If you have already had payment breaks, this may mean that your IVA is going on for 7 years.
You may think you won’t be able to remortgage. But you may have to take a secured loan if you cannot remortgage. If you have a house and are thinking about an IVA you need to understand the implications of this. It’s not clear how common this will be but two readers have commented saying that they are being pressured to take out secured loans for 15 years at 16% interest and 7 years at 22% interest. These are horrific – no-one should have to take out this sort of sub-prime, rip-off loan after making 5 years of IVA payments.
IVAs don’t suit everyone – will one suit you?
You need a stable and secure income. If you are on a zero hours contract or dependent on erratic overtime an IVA is problematic and you need to discuss in detail with the IVA firm how your monthly payments may change.
If you have your own business, you need to talk to a specialist IVA firm (not the one that cold-called you!) as a self-employed IVA can be more flexible and cope better with variable income, see IVAs for the self-employed for details.
You need a budget that will be workable for the 5 year period. That means sensible amounts for clothes, at least something for entertainment and providing for things in the house that need to be replaced.
The budget needs to include an amount for an emergency fund – at some time over the 5 year period you are going to need it, so this isn’t just an extra £20 you can spend each month.
You need to know how you will cope with likely changes during the IVA period. Some examples:
- if your eldest child gets to 18 in year 3, what will your budget look like without Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit?
- how will you manage if you need a new car? or when your current car finance ends?
- if you are renting and have to move, is there anyone that can be a guarantor, as the IVA wrecks your credit rating?
- what if mortgage rates go up? petrol prices rocket?
These are the reasons that a tight IVA can too easily turn into a disaster.
It doesn’t take something dramatic like redundancy or a critical illness – a 5 year period is a long time and a lot of small changes can accumulate. If you have only £100 a month to be able to pay towards an IVA at the start, it isn’t going to take much to go wrong for your IVA to collapse.
Some of the saddest cases debt advisors see are people whose IVA has failed – and very often these people should never have signed up to an IVA in the first place:
- there is a page here that looks at deciding between an IVA or bankruptcy;
- if you are renting, you owe less than £20,000 and you have little spare money each month then your best option is a Debt Relief Order, not an IVA.
But an IVA will let me keep my house and not cause problems with my job!
True. If you have a lot of equity and unmanageable debt an IVA can work well.
IVAs are the best choice for the small number of people such as solicitors and MPs who cannot go bankrupt. If you have complex assets such as shares in a family firm or you are a member of a partnership then an IVA may let you protect those.
But do look at your other options. With little or no equity, you may be able to keep the house if you go bankrupt. Many people worry unnecessarily about whether their job would be affected. And if the main cause of your financial problems is the mortgage and the secured loans that you have, then it may be better not to struggle to keep the house.
Think very hard about the implications of being made to take an expensive secured loan in the final year of your IVA (see above.)
If you have had unaffordable payday loans or other high cost credit, you may be able to get a refund if you complain. But you have to do this before your IVA starts – once you are in an IVA any refunds go to your creditors and don’t reduce your IVA payments.
Summary
Pros interest frozen, no hassle from creditors, debts wiped out after 5 years, good for high earning professionals with jobs where bankruptcy is not possible
Cons not flexible – if things go wrong the IVA is likely to fail. You probably have a better option. Often mis-sold so be suspicious.
Debt Camel says IVAs are most suitable for people owing 20k+ with assets to protect, who have a regular and secure income. If you can’t tick all of those boxes, then there are likely to be better options for you. Even if you can tick them all, still go and investigate the other choices.
Single payment IVA
If you have a lump sum to pay towards your debts but afterwards you are unlikely to be able to pay much at all on a monthly basis, then this could be a good option for you. A typical situation might be if you have been made redundant and you are unlikely to be able to work again, perhaps because of your age or health. It gives you a Full & Final settlement on all your debts without having to negotiate with each creditor individually.
How to set up an IVA
An IVA has to be arranged by an IVA firm that employs an Insolvency Practitioner (IP) – there is no “DIY” option.
I suggest you do this in two steps. First go to your local CAB or National Debtline to confirm that an IVA really is a good option for you.
Then do some research on firms. Read How to choose an IVA firm.
A good firm will make sure that you understand all the details of your IVA proposal. The small print may not seem that important to you now if you are keen to get the IVA going, but this is a formal legal contract.
In particular:
- if you have a house you need to understand how the ‘release equity’ in year 5 will work. Ask for various examples based around your house value and mortgage to show when you would need to remortgage/get a secured loan and when you might need to make an additional year’s payments.
- ask the firm if it is their policy to make people take a secured loan and at what rate;
- make sure you understand if there is any impact on your pension, see Is my Pension safe in an IVA?
- if you have car finance ending during the IVA, ask the firm what your options will be.
Get the answers to these points in writing from the IVA firm – an email will be ok.
Walk away from any firm that you feel is pressuring you to take a decision. A good firm should want to answer all your questions and give you time to think about whether this is right for you. Any firm that is trying to get you to make a decision fast is more interested in their own fees than the best option for you.
Misleading IVA advertising
Firms will make thousands of pounds from setting up an IVA for you, so they can afford to cold-call/text/advertise. Some of them overemphasise the advantages and play down the disadvantages of an IVA.
They talk about contact from your creditors stopping and a low affordable monthly payment. They don’t tell you how many IVAs fail or explain that the affordable payment can’t always be decreased if you get into financial problems.
IVAs are only suitable for a small proportion of people with problem debts. An IVA may be your best option, but you need genuinely independent advice about this from people who will not make any money from your decision.
IVAs as bad for credit records as bankruptcy
Choosing between an IVA and a DMP
Debt Camel’s detailed Guide to IVAs
Chris says
I am in month 57 of my IVA and also unable to remortgage. My IP is hinting at bankruptcy unless I take a secured loan with high interest over another 15 years. There has been no mention of extending the IVA for another year, there are no clauses in my IVA regarding taking out a secured loan if remortgaging is not possible and I haven’t been sent anything regarding a variation in the T’s & C’s. Do I just stand my ground and hope they suggest that I pay another year of IVA payments?
Debt Camel says
hi Chris, if your IVA has the common terms relating to extending the IVA term by a year if you are unable to remortgage, then I suggest you write to your IP quoting the terms and asking them to confirm that this will happen as you are unable to remortgage.
Chris says
Thanks for the reply. I wrote to my IP in March stating what you suggest and he replied saying that the loan (which was put forward by a company suggested by my IP) was for half the amount I was required to remortgage by so I would be no worse off than if i had been able to remortage. When I refused to accept the £15000 interest on a £9000 secured loan my IP wrote stating ‘I cannot convene a creditors meeting and tell them you have not been able to find a willing lender as that would be untrue’. He went on to say that he would leave me to find a remortgage at a lower rate but I need to do this immediately.
Any advice would be most welcome.
Debt Camel says
That is an astonishingly high interest rate (16%) for a secured loan. People go into in IVA expecting a clear solution to their debts, not to get saddled with a loan like that at the end of 5 years.
I suggest you should put in a formal written complaint. From what you have said (and remember I am not a lawyer and I haven’t seen your IVA) the basis of your complaint should be that you have complied with the terms of your IVA by seeking to get a remortgage; your IVA provides for it to be extended if you are unable to remortgage; your IVA does not specify that you should take a secured loan and you would not have entered into the IVA if you had thought this might be required. Additionally you feel that threatening you with bankruptcy amounts to unreasonable pressure as you have complied with the IVA terms.
You must complain formally to the firm and give it the chance to resolve matters before escalating the matter. You could mention at the end of your letter of complaint a list of the bodies you intend to complain to if it is not resolved:
• the parent firm that your IP is a partner of;
• your IP’s Authorising Body;
• the government Insolvency Service;
• the Financial Conduct Authority (complain that the firm is violating Principles 6 and 7 in threatening you with bankruptcy, its website is in breach of CONC 8.2.4 and the firm’s name is not listed as a trading name of the regulated entity. The FCA will not adjudicate on your particular case so this complaint would not do you any good directly, but firm would probably prefer to avoid you making this complaint.)
If you would prefer to get help with the process of complaining, ask your local Citizens Advice Bureau to write letters on your behalf – sometimes headed notepaper gets taken more seriously. Local CAB advisors will have access to national CAB’s Specialist Support teams, which includes a money advice team. Alternatively you could go to a solicitor, but this could be expensive.
The other thing you could consider is name & shame for example on MoneySavingExpert’s IVA forum and iva.co.uk’s forum – there you are anonymous. By naming the firm you are more likely to come across other people with the same problem who may have resolved it.
Chris says
Thanks very much for taking the time to go into that detail. I feel like I’m just going round in circles and, you’re right, I took an IVA to get out of debt in 5 years not 20! Will speak to CAB and update in due course. Thanks again.
Dave says
Hi, I have got 1 payment left at the end of February to end my IVA, but DFD are stating that I owe them a further £11,000 before my IVA is cleared. When I questioned this they said that I signed to pay back 100% of my IVA. I owed £43,500 which they have bumped up to £49,000 and after the last payment I would’ve paid back over £38,500. Is this right or am I getting ripped off?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
hi Dave, that would be an unusual IVA, but you need to get your IVA terms and conditions checked to see what they say. Good places to do this are the forum on http://www.iva.co.uk if you are happy to post a lot of details on-line, or go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau with all your IVA documentation. I’m sorry I can’t give a simple answer but it’s important that this is looked at in detail.
Rachelle says
I’m in an iva which I presumed finished on the 7th April this year, however I received a letter from GT asking me to ring them as a matter of urgency which I did. They said that id missed payments, which I knew I hadn’t and that I still owed £4000. My iva was for £14823. My annual report in November 2013 stated that I my iva was for £14823 and all payments are up to date. The woman on the phone said that there was a variation in October 2010 and that my iva was actually for £17000+, however I explained that the administrators at GT who’d I’d spoken to told me my iva would end once I’d paid my final payment in April 2015 which I’ve paid. I asked that if a variation in October 2010 happened (which might I add I knew nothing about) then why wasn’t this new figure in my November 2013 annual report?? She got quite stroppy and constantly repeated about this variation and said she’d send me a copy. At this point I couldn’t speak for crying and had to hang up. I have written a complaint to my supervisor and also to thier complaints department after speaking with CAB and I am refusing to make any further payments to them until this is resolved but I am having panic attacks in the meantime. I can’t understand why I’ve been told one thing by two members of GT staff and then being told another by someone else and I feel that I’ve been the victim of error on their behalf . Am I right in not making any further payments to them until this is resolved because quite frankly I’m disgusted at how I’ve been treated. Id appreciate your advice please
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Rachelle, putting in a written complaint to GT is the best first step. My instinct would be that you shouldn’t make any more payments to GT until your complaint is resolved and you have a full explanation about what happened in 2010 (you should have been informed about any variation) and a complete statement of your account, but really CAB are the best people to advise you on this as they will have seen your paperwork.
When GT have replied to your complaint, if you are unhappy you may decide that you want to complain to GT’s regulator – I’ve discussed this in another article https://debtcamel.co.uk/complaint-iva/ but I would suggest that you should return to CAB and ask for their help with this further complaint.
Rachelle says
Thank you so much for replying so quickly – I might now sleep tonight. We (my husband and I ) sent all documents off regarding equity in mortgage to which there was none and returned saying the same and because my iva was literally at an end and all money owed to creditors (£14823) was, what I thought was literally paid, I presumed that was it, until the letter and telephone call that is. I’m beginning to think that they have made an error somewhere and I’m the scapegoat ? Our iva was originally with MDC and taken over by GT and somewhere during this period everything has gone Pete tong. PPI paperwork has been done even though we knew there was none. I presumed if my iva was for a set figure and creditors were happy with that figure and that figure was paid then that would be it, however it seems variations have been put in place without my knowledge and now I’m in the middle of a field not knowing where to run. I’m keeping in touch with the CAB and debt company through the CAB as they have helped me by listening, being understanding and giving advice. They will probably threaten me with a failed iva if I miss payments (which I haven’t in my eyes) but because I have this paperwork with this figure on I’m sure I stand a chance of some sort of explanation, apology or whatever even in court if it goes that far ! I did my bit by sticking with this iva for five and half years and giving back what I owed which I thought at the time was great, however it has been an hard and emotional journey which seems to be never ending. Iva companies to me are vultures pecking at your bare flesh until there’s nothing left but an empty shell that used to represent a strong person. I wished I’d of gone bankrupt now x
I would like to thank you all on here as you are someone’s lifeline when there’s literally no life left . Thanks
Jeanette McKellar says
I have just completed my second year of a five year IVA, and three months into my third year, they have managed to gain over £11,000 from PPI and the other arm of the company call me every single day, I am at the point that I no longer answer first target recovery’s calls as they are stressing me big time. I have not missed a single payment to Knightsbridge but these people call me every single day! Knightsbridge are getting their monthly payment on time every month so, why are Target Recoveries hounding me? They have just about recouped all that was owed and this is very distressing. I need to know what and when this will stop. Also, what happens after my five years?
Thank you in advance,
Jeanette
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could write to Target Recoveries and copy your letter to Knightsbridge saying you are tired of their constant phone calls and you are only prepared to deal with them by letter.
If they continue to call, put in a formal written conmplaint to Knightsbridge.
This will I am afraid probably continue until they feel there is no more PPI to be reclaimed. It is a great shame you didn’t try to reclaim the PPI yourself rather than start an IVA, as one may not have been needed at all by the sound of it.
R sherratt says
I am looking at a possible IVA as I have been in a DMP for about 9 years and paid off about 1/3 of my debts. However I was thinking that I could apply for ppi as my ex husband and I had many joint loans and always had no choice in accepting the ppi with it. I have 2 questions
1 would I still have the money if owed any (I need to use some for a car as mine is old and I need it to work, and the rest to my dmp/Iva)
2 I don’t have any dealings with my ex husband!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a good move to think about your options after such a long DMP. reclaiming PPI is a very good first move.
If you still owe some money on a debt by now it will probably have been sold to a debt collector. In this situation any PPI refund will sometimes come to you and sometimes be offset against your debt – there isn’t a way to find out which will happen. Either is good, though obviously, you have more options if the money comes to you – so hopefully if you are making several claims some of them will.
Definitely do this now and don’t opt for an IVA until your claims are finished as it may well not be needed. After so long you may well be able to get a good final settlement offer on quite a lot of your DMP debts. And don’t use a claims firm, not only do you need every penny you can get, but I’ve seen people sued by a claims firm and get a CCJ because the PPI refund was offset against a balance so they didn’t have the cash to pay the claims firm fees :(
With joint accounts, half of the refund is likely to go to your ex. But you don’t have to make a joint claim, you can just do this on your own.
The other think it is worth checking is whether any of the debts are unenforceable because the debt collector can’t produce the correct documentation – this is for credit card, catalogues, and loan debts – not overdrafts. See https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/getting-information/credit-agreement-advice.aspx. If the debt collector can’t produce the CCA agreement then you can simply stop paying it as they can’t take you to court… This is much more likely for debts that started pre 2007. National Debtline can explain further about this.
vikki williams says
hi I was looking for some advice. I am struggling to pay my debts since going part time. I have £18k worth of credit card debut & pay £340 per month. I was looking into an IVA but I am concerned about my house as I am a single parent. I have very little equity, will I lose my home or be forced to remortgage at the end of an IVA?
any help much appreciated?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have little equity in the last year of your IVA you should not need to remortage or take a secured loan. But if house prices go up so your equity increases, you may have to, or have a 6th year of IVA payments.
Why have you gone part time? Are there like to be any more changes in your income or expenses over the next 5 years? If there are, it’s possible your IVA could fail…
Have you looked at reclaiming any PPI from any debts? In an IVA all this money goes to your creditors and doesn’t reduce your payments… the PPI refunds can be so large that you wouldn’t have needed an IVA at all if you had done this at the start.
When you are in an IVA you will find it very difficult, probably impossible, to remortgage. If you are on a fixed rate at the moment, you need to think how you will manage when that ends – what is your current lender’s standard variable rate as that is what you will switch to? And how will you manage if there are more interest rate increases? A quarter of IVAs fail and you are left with your debts and then the IVA fees.
I suggest talking to some like National Debtline 0808 808 4000 to see if an IVA is a good option for you, taking into account your situation and what may happen in the next 5 years.
vikki williams says
thank you!
I was forced to part time, under a job share. that or lose my job.
Would I be given the option of remortgage or a 6th year of paying?
My circumstances are not likely to change over the next 5 years.
I will look at PPI but back then when this was all going on, I was only quite young & still living with parents & didn’t have loans etc.
I am on 5 yr fixed rate, due to expire Dec 2021. I will look into what happens at the end of this term.
I thought the IVA assess your income/expenditure & an affordable repayment plan of what I can afford to pay per month was agreed & passed to my creditors? Is this not the case & will I still pay out what I am paying now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
could you not find another full time job? Don’t start an IVA because you have a temporary income problem, it is a form of insolvency like bankruptcy, if nothing else will work for you it could be good, but look at your other life choices first.
“Would I be given the option of remortgage or a 6th year of paying?” No, you only have to pay a 6th year if you can’t remortgage. the problem here is that for new IVAs there is a “secured loan” clause which means you may have to take out an expensive secured loan – this is new so not much is known about how it will work in practice. Here was one reader’s story: https://debtcamel.co.uk/2014-change-to-iva-protocol/. NB this won’t be a problem if you don’t have any equity at the end of your IVA.
“I am on 5 yr fixed rate, due to expire Dec 2021. I will look into what happens at the end of this term.” You move onto whatever your lender’s Standard Variable Rate is at that point. You should find out what that is now, but of course it could go up 1 or 2 % in the next few years.
“I thought the IVA assess your income/expenditure & an affordable repayment plan of what I can afford to pay per month was agreed & passed to my creditors? Is this not the case & will I still pay out what I am paying now?” No, that is what will happen. But the problems arise when something in your life means that you can’t meet those payments. Your car dies, your mortgage goes up a lot, other bills rise more than your income etc. Your IVA payments can only be decreased by 15% easily, more than that and your creditors have to agree to the change.
This must sound as though I am trying to put you off – I’m not, I am just trying to make sure that you know what you are committing yourself to.
JOE says
Hi
I am waiting for an IVA to be setup I am told the amount to pay would be £6100
I have just been told I could possibly get a contract which increases my money
Will this money be taken and deducted from my repayment or is there an option where it can be put aside and paid in a lump sum?
If I get the contract and the £6100 could be paid off in 6 months would I get any issues?
Any advice would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have badly misunderstood what an IVA is. If you are about to get a large payrise, you may wish to urgently reconsider if you should decide not to start one.
If you get more money when you are in an IVA you have to pay more into your IVA. The £6100 is what you would have to pay if you get what you are paid now, it is not a fixed sum. Being paid more does not enable you to end the IVA sooner, or to save up a lump sum to make a settlement offer, it just means your creditors get more.
Also have you looked at PPI reclaims? In an IVA your IVA company will make these, the money all goes to your credits (less the IVA and claims firm fees). this too doesn’t mean your IVA ends early.
So if you are getting a lot more money its best to stop and think now to and see if you can manage without an IVA and avoid having the insolvency market on your credit record for 6 years.
Hayley Gooding says
Hi there, my partner and I are trying to set up an IVA with a debt support agency (we have had a great reduction in income of recent times and have not been able to pay some of our debts off for quite some time) just tried to get a statement from Barclaycard for my partners card and it seems as though they’ve sold the debt on to a debt collection agency however as the card was registered in our old address we’ve got no way of knowing where the debt has been sold onto? Also, vanquis and a hitachi loan were sold on as well as been paid off on credit file but not had any contact from debt collection agency for vanquis and the debt collector that supposedly took over the hitachi finance debt is still writing to us but it looks like that has been settled on his credit file as well so could have been sold on to another company but we don’t know where? Don’t want to be bombarded with letters by calling as my partner recently had a mental breakdown and I think the letters would add undue stress and we want to get this IVA set up but cannot without knowing where the debts have been sold on to. Help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which debt support agency are you talking to, because they should be helping you with this!
Yes, you do need to know who owns your debt for an IVA and how large it is. A debt that looks as though it is settled has probably been sold on. You can phone up to get the details of who it was sold to, but if you don’t want to do that, you could ask barclaycard and the debt collectors for the information by writing a letter to them. There isn’t a way of doing this “in secret”, but it is unlikely to result you being bombarded with letters or calls.
A couple of other points:
– you may be going to get some good news about the old Vanquis debt if you ever paid for the ROP product on it (this was a bit like PPI). If you did, a lot of interest may be refunded to you sometime in the next few months. If you have started the IVA, this refund just goes into the IVA and you never see it.
– is there any PPI you could reclaim? Again if you have started an IVA you never get this money. A lot of people say they would never have needed the IVA if they had known how much PPI they could get back!
– I’m sorry to hear about your partner’s mental health problems – are they still in work or on benefits? Do you have a mortgage you are struggling to repay?
Steve says
Hi
So I have spent the last 8 weeks discussing with Creditfix to get an IVA across the line and set up.. creditors declining and 3 creditors meetings, then Creditfix say they need to redo the proposal due to their changes in fees, I never received this, I incurred a change of circumstance and they say they would need to go through the income and expenditure again… this was two weeks ago and no more communications..
Am i allowed to explore other IVA or other debt solutions away from CreditFix?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have heard of other people having their IVAs proposed by Creditfix being declined at the moment so this isn’t something unusual about your case.
If you are having second thoughts about whether an IVA is right for you, you should tell Creditfix immediately that you do not want them to proceed at the moment as your circumstances have changed and you want to rethink if an IVA is right for you. Tell them on the phone but also put this in writing by email and keep a copy of that email. Be very clear that you do not want them to proceed.
IVAs are big, serious, long term commitments. You need to be convinced that you don’t have any better options not just at the moment but that your circumstances aren’t going to change significantly over the next few years – either for the better or the worse!
Can you say something about your current situation?
Lexi says
I have over 15000 on credit cards its all my fault as I still live with my parents and only pay 200 rent. I stopped spending last summer but it isnt going down much because of the interest and I cant get 0% cards with my credit record.
A friend suggested an IVA but can I get one as I can make the payments? I am hoping to move in with new partner in the summer and want this sorted before then so it isnt his problem. I would have to pay more rent and bills but time to start being an adult and less petrol costs as hes next to my work.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may be able to get an IVA now, it will depend if you have enough to pay the debts each month after allowing for a reasonable level of expenses. But if you do have enough left than your creditors are not likely to agree to an IVA.
But in your case you absolutely shouldn’t try to get an IVA now! You have potentially a very big change in your finances coming up, moving in with a partner, increased bills but possibly lower commuting costs. It is much better to wait and see what your situation is like at that point. You may have a lot less money available each month – although IVAs can sometimes be changed, this isn’t guaranteed. More than a quarter of IVAs fail when people can’t manage what they originally thought was an “affordable” payment.
I don’t know if your boyfriend knows about your debts – it’s also not practical to keep quiet about being in an IVA.
amanda jane whitfield says
Hi I used iva company , on which I was given only 2 option , either go bankrupt and pay debt within one year if not I would loose my home . the second was to re-mortgage and pay the iva off in one go, as I was confused and desperate and also new I would be unable to pay within one year I would loose my children’s and I our home. I was sent to a mortgage company to apply for a re-mortgage little did I know that the apr is 13 %, I was advised to take this over 25 yrs , is this actually a iva , I was charged around £4000 to the practitioner had to pay £150 for interim order, pay ridiculous charges broker fees this was done in 2006 . I should now of been free of debt in 2011/2012 but now I am in a worse situation than ever , I have to pay over a £111000 for second mortgage , I only owe £7000 to my original mortgage and this will be finished in a couple of years, instead I will have to pay into my retirement to pay swift advances off , I am at my wits end with this see nothing than interest on this as I missed payment please help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds as though you have taken out a large secured loan and used the proceeds to clear your debts through a single payment IVA. You may have been given extremely bad advice back in 2006 – who was the IVA firm?
Denise says
Hi I was with clear debt, my Iva started may 2014, however due to a change of my Iva company was transferred over to aperture who took over in 2016, when they took over does that mean my Iva started again? I am still making monthly payments and have just been sent an expenditure form with an account of my Iva with no say of how long I have left. Any info would be appreciated thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, your IVA terms and conditions, including the length of the IVA, will have remained the same. Was it 5 or 6 years? Any payment breaks so far? Do you have a house with equity?
Denise says
It’s ok spoke to Iva today apparently my final payment was may and it is being sorted, I have to wait between three to six months for completion, no payments all up to date never missed a payment. Thank you.
Virginia Gibson says
If you are getting attendance allowance
Which is non means tested should it
Be put as an income on your Iva thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it’s income – but most people also have had additional costs that AA was intended to cover, so they should have been included as expenses.
Diane Bellamy says
I have an IVA which I took out in april 2019. Included in that iva is a store card with next. Obvisiously I can’t take out anymore credit with next and I don’t want to. However I would like to be able to use their website to order and pay with a debit card but the website won’t let me do this. What can I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Buy from somewhere else? Not sure what else I can say.
Emily says
Hi Sarah,
Do you envisage the 3 month mortgage payment payment holiday extension announced recently to be followed on by personal finance extensions on the existing 3 months?
I’m debating whether to hold off my IVA application or to wait.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think we will probably find out in the next couple of weeks.
Have your finances been affected by coronavirus and how likely are they to recover in a couple of months? 6 months?
Do you have a mortgage?
Emily says
Hi,
Thank you!
No, I don’t have a mortgage. Ideally I would do bankruptcy but I have a car worth £2,200 so that’s what is stopping me. I owe £38,000.
My finances were in a mess before coronavirus. I don’t think they will be getting any better in 6 months time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
30% of IVAs fail. It is not sensible to opt for an IVA to protect a second hand car asset that is worth little. Is there anyone in your family who could buy half your car from you? You could use the case for the bankruptcy fee…
Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your options. One would be to make token payments to all your debts for 6 months and then see what things look like… second hand car prices may have collapsed.
Emily says
I didn’t realise that I could get someone to buy half of the car from me. I thought they would need to buy the whole car.
So, is it that they can buy any amount over £1000 from me?
Thank you for your advice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This should be possible. They would need to write you a letter saying they know you are in financial difficulty and to help you they are happy to buy 50% of your car, say that you can drive and insure it and that it will be your responsibility to maintain it, but if in future you want to sell the car you should talk to them first and they will expect you to give them 50% of the sale price.
Have you checked what the value is on Parkers? use the “poor condition” option. You would need to keep a record of this to show you sold half the car for a reasonable amount – you can’t sell half a nearly new BMW for £1000 :)
Before starting on this, please talk to a debt adviser about bankruptcy and whether it is a good option for you at the moment. Mention the car as well, but I think you need proper advice on your options and their pros and cons, not just on the car issue. I assist you phone National debtline on 0808 808 4000.
Issy says
Hi Sara , I’m currently 2 years into my Iva, which is for 60 months . I’ve recently paid £6500 into my Iva due to a poi payout , I’ve been told I still have to carry on paying till the end of the plan . My debt is for £10500 , but when it’s complete I’ve calculated I’d ov paid well over £12000 is this correct ,I don’t think I was given the correct advice about this IVA as I only rent my property and think a DRO would of been my best option, any advice of this .
Thanks Issy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A DRO may have been a better option for you at the start. But now 2 years in, with only three to go, the question is can you manage the monthly IVA payments?
Your IVA will only be completed early if you have repaid all your debts plus the IVA fees, usually at least £3000, often more. ANd sometimes 8% per annum interest is also added onto your debts.
Making a large payment eg PPI or redundancy money often doesn’t clear the IVA and you still have to carry on maying the IVA as usual.
Steve says
Hi so we are currently in a Iva ,due to change in circumstances The repayment as gone from £90 a month to £415 a big in crease ! But anyway my original debt was £14500 and now they saying the total I must pay is £21000 effectively adding £6500 to my original debt I thought the purpose of a Iva was to reduce your debt not to plunge you further into debt can I Iva plunge you into more debt than you was in , in the first place ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. if you are trying to settle it early in full, you also have to pay the high IVA s fees and sometimes also 8% added interest per year.
Huseyin says
Hi! I have started a IVA and made my first payment last month. Although all my creditors have accepted the plan, one of the creditors have sent me a claims form and taking me to court. I want to know if they have the right to this as the plan has been accepted by them? What do i need to do regarding this matter? I would be very grateful if you could assist.
Best regards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No they can’t. Ask your IVA firm to help you with this, either to get the creditor to withdraw the claim or help you defend it.
Snahan says
Hi Sara I’ve recently had refunds from creditors for affordability complaints , as I’m in an IVa and some of these debts have cleared should I ask my IVA if this has made a difference to my balance ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you think you are close to being able to repay all your debts in full, getting these refunds will make no difference to your IVA :(
Issy says
Just reading the article regarding IVA”s , wish I had been given better advice before going into an Iva , I mean why would anyone get into more debt with the ridiculous fees they charge , no wonder they thought it was my best option, surely there’s a lot of mis selling going on !!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you managing the IVA payments ok?
M says
I am just about to enter an iva with a company called hanover insolvency. I originally called a company called money bubble who went through all my options and said an iva would best be suited for me. They put me through to hanover insolvency who did a short interview and have sent me docs that i have signed to agree as in my head i thought if i pay £125 a month over 5 years i am happy to do so if that wipes off all my current debts to be debt free as i currently pay around £300 for just credit cards and £350 for a car which is now become impossible to maintain on my salary.
I have 26k worth of debt which is credit cards and a car on HP. They have advised me that the car will go back to the finance company and auctioned of as i am only 5 months into the agreement but regardless of amount they recover have said i will pay an amount of £125pm for 5 years. It all seems fine i currently live in a rented council house and explained the reason why i want to clear my debts is to be in a position where 6 years from now my credit report is clean and i can apply for a mortgage.
I am happy to pay £125pm as it is affordable i am just worried after reading different peoples issues of paying that amount for 2-3 years but showing no decrease in balance. Should i be worried or not as i thought if the documents show an agreement of £125pm over 5 years and all other debt remaining to be wiped of i am doing the right thing?
Hope you can help thank you in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
STOP. This sounds like a bad idea.
Before I list the reasons why and say what your better alternatives may be, can I check a couple of points.
1) do you need a car, or can you just manage without one?
2) how far through the HP agreement are you? Are you up to date with it at the moment?
3) has your salary reduced or have the debts just grown much too large?
M says
1) do you need a car, or can you just manage without one?
I have my wifes far to use so its not a problem
2) how far through the HP agreement are you? Are you up to date with it at the moment?
I am only 5-6 months into a 5 year agreement so a VT was not an option payment were up to date up until this month.
3) has your salary reduced or have the debts just grown much too large?
My salary has reduced and my debts have got to in total without car 18-19k
This is the only reason why i chose to go with iva route as 5 years from now my debts would be wiped off, 5 years from now i can wait patiently till year 6 and apply for a mortgage on the council property i am as i would have 6 years of discount to use which is why i went with it. As if i continued to pay what i did it would take me over 10 years to pay and each month would be a struggle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As if I continued to pay what I did it would take me over 10 years to pay and each month would be a struggle
That is a good reason to go for a type of insolvency.
But there is no good reason to go for an IVA unless you have assets to protect, which you don’t.
Bankruptcy is probably a much better option for you than an IVA. You only have to make payments in bankruptcy for 3 years, not 5. And bankruptcy can’t fail…
At the moment more than 30% of IVA s fail because what looks affordable at the start turns out not to be if your expenses go up more than your income does.
IVA firms make more than £3500 in fees from an IVA – no-one makes any money if you go bankrupt, that is why no-one advertises it or pushes people into it. If your IVA fails after 2 or 3 years, most of your monthly payments will have gone in fees, your IVA firm will be sitting pretty and you will be back with your debts hardly having dropped at all :(
In bankruptcy if your income drops or your expenses go up, your monthly payments are reduced. To nothing if necessary. Bankruptcy doesn’t go wrong it is much less risky.
An IVA doesn’t make it easier to get a mortgage in future than bankruptcy does. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/bankruptcy-iva-dro-credit-rating/ which looks at this problem.
Bankruptcy you have to pay a £680 fee at the start, but if you can afford £125 a month for an IVA that will only take a few months to save up.
There is a third type of insolvency – a debt relief order (DRO).
A DRO is a simpler, cheaper form of bankruptcy. At the moment you have to have debts of less than £20,000 so yours are too large. And you have to have a spare income of less than £50 a month.
But the DRO limits are being increased from end June 2021 to 30k, so your debts would be under that. And that the £50 a month spare income goes up to £75 a month.
So I suggest that you should talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 urgently about this IVA and whether bankruptcy would be better. And ask National Debtline what they think your spare income is each month and if you might be under the £75 DRO limit, as they may not use the same calculation your IVA firm does.
If National Debtline thinks an IVA is a good option for you, fine. You have done your research and know it is right.
M says
Thank you for your reply appreciate it, i did think about bankruptcy but it was the inital fee that scared me and thought i have to pay that straight away,
Also my iva if i cant afford £125 a month my wife can help cover that cost so it should be manageable. I have a meeting on the 15th but im guessing now iv signed docs and asked them to get all the information together i am bound to it now without incurring cancellation charges.
Its a shame but debt is and only once this goes live i will feel better and stress free paying 1 amount over the 5 years than 7 different people and constant worry and stress of plans being changed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No you aren’t bound before the meeting has been held.
This may be a seriously big mistake to make.
Please talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 – they are open Saturday mornings.
If it takes a few months to save up the bankruptcy fee you will Still be much better off paying that.
And it’s possible you may qualify for a DRO in May when the rules are likely to change if National Debtline say your spare income is actually under £100 a month… In a DRO you pay a few of only £90 and then there are no monthly payments at all.
M says
My iva meeting has been approved from the 15th of march 2021. How long does it actually take for it to be on the iva register and updated on my credit file ? Is this instant or will it happen in a few weeks?
Weatherman says
Hi M
It can take a couple of weeks – if it’s not on there within three weeks from the 15th (so early April), query it with your IVA firm. Is there a particular reason you’re asking, or just interested?
M says
Applying for a job which will involve a credit check, if i get the check done before the iva is on my credit file i can work there, if they do it after it is on the credit file i got no chance lol trying my luck!
Ivan says
Has something happened to Hanover insolvency? Thier contact details are all dead, they haven’t taken the DD out of my account, I’ve been trying to contact them but none of the details work.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t heard anything about this. If 0161 905 4764 doesn’t work on Monday, let me know?
Simon says
Hi Sara
My friend is 23 and owes just over 10k on various credit cards and loans. He has been recommend to go into an iva. He earns 20k per year and maybe an extra 10k im bonus.
They have said that the bonus doesn’t matter as its not gauranteed but when they look at his payslips at the end of the year do they not see how much he has made over his bask and ask for 50% of it?
Also if he gets another job on say a higher basic of say 28k and no bonus do they ask for the difference as when he started the iva he was on 20k and they based the payments around that as its what he could afford but now he has more money.
I advised him to go bankrupt as he is only 23 ans lives at home so may be a better amd quicker option for him.
Your advise on the is much apprciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Any IVA firm that tells him to ignore the bonus should be avoided like the plague. It is HIGHLY misleading.
I am assuming he will have a standard “protocol” IVA.
10% of the bonus will be ignored then he has to pay 50% of the rest to the IVA – so 45%.
His monthly payment will go up if his income goes up – he will have to pay 50% of any increase to the IVA.
It sounds from what you have said that an IVA is a dreadful option for him.
On the numbers you have talked about, he will end up paying MORE than his debts to the IVA as he will also have to pay the IVA fees – at least £3500. He won’t get any debt written off at all.
He will also have insolvency on his credit record. That means he will find it difficult, probably impossible without a guarantor, to rent privately. Does he still want to be living at home in 6 years? Even if his IVA completes in 4 years, his credit record is still wrecked for 6 years.
I suggest he just settles down and clears his debts!
If he can’t manage the monthly repayments, he can get a debt management plan (talk to StepChange https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx about this.) Then when he get a bonus he can use the whole amount after tax to clear a large chunk of the debt. On those bonus levels he will be debt free in a couple of years and he will have avoided insolvency on his credit record.
You are right that bankruptcy would be quicker than an IVA. And if he has no assets it is generally a much better idea. But he would still be making monthly payments for 3 years and have insolvency on his credit record. So for him it should also be avoided as he has a much better option than any form of insolvency.
I understand the attraction of trying to get a clean start when someone is 23 and has got themselves into a mess. But he has no need to panic, he can work his way out of this without an IVA or bankruptcy.
simon says
Hi Sara
So he does live at home at the moment, his worry is that because his basic is 20k and bonus is around 10k a year but its monthly bonus so say £833 per month, he’ll end up having to pay that towards the IVA people. he said they have been on the phone this morning asking for his tax code.
he says that the IVA will help him financially and then with the bonus he make he will possibly be able to save and pay the whole lot off in 18-24 months time however i have reminded him that this will be on his credit file for 6 years for an IVA or bankruptcy.
I recommended step change or payplan with a DMP. although he will get defaults on all his accounts which will also stay on his file for 6 years he could have 1 low monthly payment and call up a creditor every few months an offer a partial settlement like i am doing.
you gave me some great advise when you said that the older defaults get the better they look and i could go for a mortgage as long as the default is 3 years old and been paid off for at least 1 year.
he’s just very worried that the IVA people are pushing him down this avenue over other options like bankruptcy and DMP plans.
his debt is credit cards, loan and over drafts – can overdrafts be included in DMPS? he know’s he will need a new bank.
i think after reading what you said a DMP is the way to go
Sara (Debt Camel) says
with the bonus he make he will possibly be able to save and pay the whole lot off in 18-24 months time
An IVA doesn’t work like that. He will have to pay the bonus to the IVA firm and he will have to pay the debts in full – he cant use the bonus to offer an early settlement.
And he won’t save any money, instead he will pay the IVA fees in addition to all his debts.
Yes a DMP and then using the bonus to settle the debts sounds like the way to go. Even if he gets little off in partial settlement, he avoids the insolvency marker for 6 years and he avoids the IVA fees.
The IVA people will make a lot of money if he signs up with them. It’s in their interest not his!
Yes you can include an overdraft on a DMP. He gets a new bank account and shifts his income & payments over. The old bank will stop adding charges in the DMP.
simon says
Hi Sara
great i thought as much with an IVA, he’s gone through with the DMP plan and is paying around £400 a month off and will try and save his bonus to pay the rest of when he can.
Great advise as always Sara, much appreciated : )
Issy says
Hi Sara , stop laying my Iva in August , each month they call asking where payments are , I keep telling them same thing I wish to terminate my Iva , so we are in November now still not recieved any termination letter , what can I do , as I want to try for. DRO which I am emigre for ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send them a written complaint – email is fine. Say you told them in August you want to terminate your IVA and go for a DRO, tell them which debt advice agency has confirmed you are eligible for a DRO. Point out that the Insolvency Service has said in Dear IP 133 and 138 that Insolvency Practitioners are obliged to ensure that an IVA remains an appropriate debt option when it has been started.
Who is the IVA firm?
Issy says
Hi Sara the iva firm is Financial Support Systems .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, let me know what reply you get to this?
Also have you had it confirmed by a DRO adviser that you are eligible for a DRO?
Nigel says
Hi. My iva is going to be cancelled because I have an overdraft. The iva was set up in 2018. They told me to open an account for the payments to be made from. I’ve never missed a payment. On the yearly review they have control over the amount. They never told me that I couldn’t have an overdraft. Surely they can see the account was overdrawn since the middle of 2019. They said they will terminate the arrangement with in the next few days. I rang them yesterday but couldn’t get to speak to the supervisor team. I don’t have any money to clear the overdraft. What should I do. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh! lots of questions, sorry…
so the overdraft is on the account they told you to open?
how much is it at the moment?
has it been building slowly, so if they had told you in the 2019 you could have easily corrected it?
what has been happening to your payments at the annual reviews – have they been going up? have they been taking account of extra costs eg petrol, council tax, energy prices?
how large are the debts that went ito the IVA and how much have you paid to date?
Simon says
I am considering a 1 off payment IVA. I currently have a DMP which will take 40 years to repay. My mum left money in a trust for me but I have no direct access to it. If I could get money released from the trust to make a one off payment, would I be free as soon as the payment is processed? I do not have enough surplus income for a standard IVA. I owe approx £60k and am paying £120 a month. Thank you (in advance).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
An IVA takes a few months to complete, it isn’t instant. And it will remain on your credit record as a form of insolvency, preventing you from getting a mortgage at an OK rate or from renting privately without a gurantor for 6 years.
Do you have assets to protect?
How much is in the trust? Do you get any income from it?
That is a lot of debt, if you could say how it has arisen and how long ago, there may be some other options.
Issy says
Hi Sara I asked my Iva to terminate my Iva in august , in November I received an enrol saying the termination process had begun , they also said £5675 of debt had been paid also £1000 nominee fee and other fees , still waiting for actual letter and breakdown is this normal ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did they get back to you in August or September to ask any questions or tell you what was happening? Who is the IVA firm?
Issy says
No nothing at all , just an email in October with a formal breach and then options for me to carry on , company is FFS Financial Support Systems
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So missing 3 months payments is a formal breach. Did you respond in October saying you wanted the IVA terminated?
Issy says
Hi yes Sara been telling them since August , they Havnt been very co operate since I told them I wanted to fail the iva
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is your plan to switch to a DRO? Have you talked to a debt adviser who has confirmed you would be eligible for a DRO (I am not doubting this but you do need to know this)? You can start the process of applying for a DRO now, so the application is already to go when the IVA has formally failed.
The time taken to fail your IVA is annoying, but you aren’t paying the IVA are you, so at least you aren’t struggling to do that.
Issy says
Hi Sara so I’ve received my letter of termination, they have taken almost £4000 for fees ? Really sickening as they gave took almost nearly tge sane as they paid to my creditors, don’t really understand all tge breakdowns of what they have paid as it’s confusing, are these fees normal as I was never really made aware of high fees or would never have entered into Iva , I’d rather my creditors that amount of money !!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No they don’t explain at the start how much money they make – if they did, you might wonder whether actually you have any better options…
I responded to your previous complaint over on this page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/iva-mis-selling/comment-page-1/#comment-468417
Neil says
recently received a large back pay from work, dating back to December 2020, as I’m a key worker I shouldn’t of paid extra for that period upto july21, however I was advised I had to pay 1/2 of my back pay as I received it in November 21, although the back pay was for period dec 20 – July 21 – have I been advised correctly?
2 – I roughly owe 2400 on my IVA, I want to make any offer to end this early as I am now topping up my iva by 150 per month due to pay rise, I was thinking of offering 1800 as full and final payment, do you think that would be accepted??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I was advised I had to pay 1/2 of my back pay as I received it in November 21, although the back pay was for period dec 20 – July 21
I don’t think that is correct.
Who is your IVA firm?
I roughly owe 2400 on my IVA
Is that the total of the payments you expected to make to the IVA less the payments you have made?
Have your expenses also increased, eg bills? Have they been taken into account when setting your new monthly payment?