An Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) is a formal, legal contract for a set period, usually five or six years.
To finish your IVA sooner and have the remainder of your debts written off, you need to talk to your IVA firm, say how much you are offering and where the money is coming from. Your creditors will need to approve this offer.
How much you should offer as a Full and Final (F&F) settlement depends on your situation and why you want to end your IVA early.
Contents
How do you settle an IVA early
This is how it works:
- you tell your IVA firm what you want to offer;
- your IVA firm puts your proposal to your creditors as a “variation” to your existing agreement, some firms charge for doing this;
- the same offer is made to all your creditors and they vote whether to accept it.
These offers take time – often a couple of months.
5 situations NOT to make an offer
You may hate the IVA, wish you had never started it, be desperate for it to end… but there are some situations in which an early settlement is not your best option.
When you are in the last year
The closer you are to the end of the IVA, the less point there is in settling it early. It can be a lot less stressful to simply sit back and make those last 7 payments.
When you mainly want the IVA off your credit record
This doesn’t happen after an early settlement – your credit score will not improve. The IVA marker remains on your credit record for 6 years from the start. Settling it early will not make it easier to get a new tenancy or a mortgage in most cases.
When the IVA payments are too high to be affordable
Here you should be to get the payments reduced – see Help with IVAs if you can’t pay because of the cost of living. So talk to your IVA firm. Do this first – then IVA may be manageable and if you still want to settle it, it may cost less.
When you can’t afford to make any IVA payments
There are two other options that could be better for you here.
The first is to ask the IVA firm to propose to your creditors that your IVA should be completed now, not failed, “on the basis of the funds paid to date”. See this which looks at when this is a reasonable thing to ask for.
The second is to let the IVA fail and opt for another form of insolvency – a Debt Relief Order or bankruptcy. Here your debts are cleared and the money you are being offered by a relative could help you have an easier next few years. if you have other debts outside the IVA, this will also get those wiped as well.
When you have other debts outside the IVA
It may be that you are getting behind with the energy bills, rent or council tax because of the IVA payments. Here it would be better to get your IVA payments reduced and any money from a relative could be better used to clear these other important debts.
First look at what you are likely to pay at the current rate
You can’t try offering 40% and then increase it to 50% and then to 75%. Assume you can only make one offer, so get it right the first time.
The first thing is to work out how much you would pay into your IVA if you carry on making the monthly payments. So, how many months are left until your IVA finishes? If you have a house with equity, add on the 12 months that your IVA is likely to be extended for.
Then multiply your current IVA payments by that number of months.
For Example – say you are 28 months into a 5 year IVA, so there are 32 months remaining and you pay £200 a month. If you don’t have a house with more than 15% equity you will be paying in either 32 x £200 = £6,400. With equity in your house you can expect to be paying 44 x £200 = £8,800.
Then consider if you have a good reason to offer less than this
Case 1 – you are struggling with your IVA payments
In 2022 this will often be because energy bills, petrol and other prices have risen a lot. But it could be due to more individual factors such as illness, splitting up with your partner or reduced income.
Here your first thought should be to get your IVA payments reduced, or your IVA completed, see above. But if they won’t work. if your IVA is in danger of failing your creditors may be prepared to accept a lower offer to complete your IVA early.
In this case, you should stress to your IVA firm that if your settlement offer is not accepted, you are going to be unable to continue with the IVA. So your creditors have a choice between accepting your IVA settlement offer and the IVA failing.
The creditors will be interested in whether your problems could be temporary and if your IVA could realistically continue. Evidence of your circumstances may help get your offer accepted:
- a new Income & Expenditure form showing you have very little spare income because of increased bills and prices;
- a letter from your doctor or a hospital appointment letter;
- copy of recent payslips;
- a recent estate agent’s valuation showing there is little or no equity in your house can also clarify the position.
With this evidence, your creditors may agree to accept a lower full and final settlement than your remaining monthly payments.
What might be acceptable depends not just on how much there is still to pay into your IVA – the total amount of your debts is also relevant. If your IVA was only offering a low return to your creditors, then they may not agree to this being reduced much.
Case 2 – you just want the IVA ended
If you aren’t struggling, you probably have to offer close to the total of the remaining IVA payments.
Here the reasons why you want to end the agreement early don’t really matter – you may want to emigrate, retrain for a different career, move in with a new partner or just be sick of the whole thing and want to start with a clean slate.
But from your creditors’ point of view this is all pretty irrelevant: they simply have to choose between taking your offer of £x,000 now or you carrying on with the monthly payments.
So on the example given above, they would be unlikely to accept £3,000, may be prepared to take £5,000 immediately and would be very likely to accept £6,000. If there was some equity in your house, then you would probably have to offer more to get it accepted.
Case 3 – you have a windfall payment you can use
Lump sums and an inheritance need to be discussed with your IVA firm. There is normally a clause in your IVA which means that windfalls over £500 have to be paid into your IVA.
Here you don’t have a choice. This isn’t an early settlement offer because the money has to go into your IVA:
- when the amount that will be paid into your IVA is more than the total of the debts in the IVA plus the IVA fees plus statutory interest on the debts, your IVA will be completed early.
- if it isn’t large enough for that, your creditors will expect you to carry on with the normal monthly payments.
More unusually, sometimes a windfall payment doesn’t have to be paid into your IVA – this could, for example, be compensation for a personal injury. Here it is your choice what you want to do with it, so you can make an offer to settle the IVA early if you want. Or you could just let your IVA continue and keep the money.
Or it could be your partner who is getting the lump sum – that doesn’t have to go into your IVA. You could just carry on making the normal payments or you could offer to settle the IVA early, probably having to pay close to the remaining monthly payments as in Case 2.
Case 4 – your IVA firm suggests you take a loan
If you are more than halfway through, your IVA firm may say you may be able to get an “early exit loan”. You need to think carefully about this offer, as the loan may be expensive (eg about 30% interest) and it prolongs the time you are in debt.
See IVA early exit loans for details, including the alternative, cheaper ways of improving your credit record after an IVA.
IVA settlements are unpredictable
It’s impossible to say for certain whether your creditors will accept an offer. Someone with a lot of experience will sometimes be suprised when a good offer is refused. Other times surprisingly low offers are agreed.
If you don’t mind putting details of your situation on the internet, then the IVA forum may help. You can post anonymously and get replies from people who work for IVA firms or who have had an IVA.
Where is the money coming from?
Your IVA firm will want to see evidence about the source of the money you are putting forward. It won’t matter if this is coming from a relative or a friend. This could include evidence about the identity of the donor, perhaps a copy of their passport or driving licence, and proof that they have the money, such as a copy of a bank statement.
If you were just given £5,000 by your dad as a generous Christmas present, then your IVA firm will want you to pay this into your IVA and still carry on with the normal monthly payments. So it’s important to say you will only get this lump sum when your proposal to settle the IVA early is accepted.
Be careful! And check the details!
There are two situations where you have to be very careful and get the settlement agreed first:
- you must NOT take any money out of your pension until you have confirmation that your creditors have accepted your offer. If you take it out before this, it could be claimed as a windfall payment and you would still have to carry on with the IVA! See IVAs and Pensions for more information.
- if the money is going to come from selling your house, make sure you read Sell my house to end my IVA early. You need to get the settlement amount agreed BEFORE you start to sell your house.
If your IVA firm agrees to put forward your proposal, you should make sure you know the exact details of what is being proposed.
“My IVA firm won’t put my F&F offer to my creditors”
If you only have a few months to go, it’s not arguing about this. It usually takes 2-3 months to get it all organised and approved by your creditors. If you are near the end, your IVA firm is just saying it’s simpler to make the remaining payments.
Make sure you have set out in writing exactly what you are proposing and why. If your IVA firm says it can’t be done or the offer isn’t enough, ask them to explain why. Insist on having this in writing.
If you think your offer is a sensible one and your firm is being unreasonable, put in a formal complaint.
What if the offer is refused?
If your creditors reject the proposal, you have to carry on with the normal monthly payments.
You could talk to your IVA firm about whether a higher IVA settlement offer might be acceptable now. Or if you could make the same offer in another six months or a year, which will give your creditors more money as they will have had the additional payments.
If you simply can’t carry on with the payments, then it may be that your IVA has to fail. See Your option when an IVA fails for what you can do then.
Should I sell my house to end my IVA?
Lower IVA payments because of inflation
More than a third of IVAs fail
Paul0732 says
Im a year into my IVA for the past 3-4 months ive had to use pay breaks as im now unemployed getting a job is hard where i live not many places taking on etc.
I was looking into going bankrupt but that will stop me from getting into the armed forces which i am hoping to do.
Job seekers wont help with repayments as my iva still costs more and i wont be able to live etc.
I live with parents only one wage comes in and we are bearly getting by on that.
any help would be great thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large are your debts?
Daniel says
Hi There Ive been told my remaining balance is around £10000 would £9000 be likely to be accepted? It would be a gift from my brother.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s obviously a serious offer. If there are any reasons why you will find it difficult to continue with your IVA, you should point these out to your IVA firm.
Karen says
My husband and I r currently in an Iva we are now having more wages than at the start we are paying 177 for four years then they said we should of been paying anextra 80 pound after the third year they never contacted us to let us know so after the four yrs we had to pay 260 they also received a 7000 pounds claim off us now they want us to pay 870 pound a month for the last 7 months is there anything we can do , they said 512 at first which we said we would struggle to pay until November but now they r asking for another 362 they are threatening us with bankruptcy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you getting a LOT higher wages? Have your expenses also increased? Have you asked if you can pay the extra over a longer period?
Aldo says
Hi,
I am on my 4th year on my İVA and I haven’t missed any payments at all. I am thinking of making a full and final offer to my creditors. I have about 17 months left before my İVA finishes and I am paying £50 a month. Do you think £700 offer is reasonable ? If it’s excepted am I still have to wait 6 years to get certificate and will it be on my credit file for 6 years even tho I ve made the full and final payment.
Many Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s not me that has to think it’s reasonable. 17 x 50 = £850 and it may be simpler to offer the whole amount rather than try to haggle.
It usually takes a couple of months for an offer to be accepted and go through – it has to be voted on by your creditors. After that there should be a short period whilst your IVA is closed then you will get the completion certificate. But the IVA marker will stay on your credit record for the rest of the 6 year period.
Gemma says
Hi I was in a dmp for 6 years then was advised to go for an iva ! So I did in Nov 16 I pay £235 a month my debt it £69000 , I’m trying to sell my house but the equity that’s in it is my fathers as it was there house to start with but my name is also on mortgage how do o stand with the iva would they except less to complete the iva or will they want full amount ! Please help as we can’t get a mortgage and I don’t want to loose my home
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This may sound like an irrelevant question, but if you sell the house, what are you hoping to do next?
When was your name added to the deeds/mortgage? At that point, what was the house worth? What is the house worth now? Is there any documentation between you and your father about how the equity is split? Is your IVA firm aware that your father own part of the house?
Emily says
I am possibly getting made redundant, don’t know for sure yet. If I settle as soon as possible, would I then be able to keep my redundancy money?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your IVA has completed, yes. But this isn’t usually a speedy process, expect it to take quite a few months. And where will you get the money to settle the IVA?
Dan says
Hi,
I really want to get rid of my IVA. I started payments in Jan 2018, it was originally for 5 years. Then my situation changed and because my payments were ruduced I had a 12 month extension, which means my end date is now 2024. I was originally paying £161 a month and i now pay £80. If i were to offer a lump sum would it be what is left of the £80 payments (in which case from Jan 2020 would be £3840) would this suffice do u think? I am managing payments however i want rid of the IVA all together as want to move in with my partner and start a family. I have not yet found anyone who can advise me.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is there someone that could pay the lump sum for you? I assume you are renting, do you own a car or have one on finance?
Debbie says
Hi i am approx 18 months into an iva and my husband and I are divorcing. The house (which is currently in his sole name) is being signed over to me as part of the divorce settlement. How will this affect my iva? I am considering remortgaging to try to clear the iva early? Is this a good idea and if not please could you advise me on what I can do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you acquire a house by having it transferred into your name – which I assume has equity – then this counts as a windfall asset for your IVA. You will be expected to sell it or mortgage it so that you can replay all your debts IN FULL plus the IVA fees…
But this gets worse. As you have an IVA on your credit record, you are not going to be able to get a mortgage. Not until your IVA has finished and it has dropped off your credit record, which will be 6 years after it started.
You need to rethink this divorce settlement urgently. Talk to your solicitor / your ex to see if the house could stay in his name until your IVA completes.
Gwen says
A friend of mine who has an IVA wishes to hand me a lump sum then give it back to her as a ‘gift’ as she wishes to settle her IVA in full. I am sure this is not allowed but she is not convinced. Can you advise?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Doesn’t sound right – where did she get this lump sum from that her IVA firm doesn’t know about?
Gwen says
I thought it didn’t sound right. She said the money comes from her kids’ savings account. I have advised to her that I might get investigated as I am a single mum and unlikely to just give a gift of over £3000 to a friend. She is still not happy as she advised her IVA firm said it was OK so I need to persuade her with stronger arguments hence me seeking your help with this please.
Colin says
Hi, I’ve currently 6 months left on my IVA, I entered the IVA with debt of £32000, due to my income I have been paying a high monthly amount and have currently paid in £37000, I predict that come the end of my IVA it would be £40000 and should be near paying off all my debt. If this is the case do I still need to try and remortgage to release money or extend my IVA a year like I’m being told I need to?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to ask your IVA company at which point you will have repaid your debts and the IVA fees in full. After this point you should not have to pay any more in. It may be necessary to pay for a few more months, but not a year.
Alan says
Hi.
I have just been advised that my iva is to be extended by 12 months as I can’t release equity from my house , very happy with this outcome but I have been offered a sum of money equal to the rest of my iva payments and the 12 month extension in order to get this ended now. My question is if a variation meeting is held and that offer made is it likely that it will be accepted ? Also are there any risks involved with making this offer ? Many thanks in advance .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this a loan from Perinta? Why would you accept this – it means you will pay more than if you don’t as interest will be added. Ending your IVA now doesn’t really gain you anything – it’s still on your credit record & you won’t be able to remortgage until the 6 years is past.
Alan says
Hi , sorry I didn’t make myself clear , the money would be coming from my parents as a one time gift . I know that financially it makes no odds if I pay it all off now or over the next 18 months but just want an end to this now as I’d quite like to sell my house next year .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, that’s different – taking out a commercial loan at a high rate of interest isn’t a good idea, but what you are suggesting should be fine.
Looby says
Hi my partner has had an iva for 4 years now and only has 6 months left (we have a house so may have to do the 12 month extension) my partner is being made redundant in 4 weeks and we would like to pay the iva off with the redundancy . However our iva firm are saying they will take all the redundancy and we will still have to pay our monthly payments, my partner is expecting to get around £7,000 surely this is enough to close the iva we only pay £280 a month. Advise would be appreciated please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry, this will feel like such bad timing for you. He will be allowed to keep six months worth of wages (that will help him to keep paying his IVA repayments during the time he is looking for work) but any money over that must be paid into your IVA. And if he finds work in the 6 months, the rest of the 6 months money has to go into the IVA.
Ian McIntyre says
Hi. I am 48 months into a 60 month Iva and have left my job for health reasons. My hope is to get a job asap but what happens with my payments meanwhile? My partner, not included in the Iva is willing to keep up payments until I get a job. Will this be ok?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It would be fine for your partner to make the payments – though you should tell your IVA firm that this is happening. but how long could they afford to do this for? And how likely are you to find another job?
Unless you expect a new job, paying the same sort of amount as the last one quite quickly, it may be better for you to ask for a payment break from your IVA for 6 months to allow you to find a job. During this time your partner saves up what the monthly contributions would have been. Then if you haven’t got a job at the end of it, your partner can offer the 6 months payments as a lump sum to end your IVA.
Anon says
If I offered to pay the full amount would it still have 2 be put forward to the creditors I’ve put a lower offer forward but was told it could take 3 mths 2 be sorted out but ideally would like it sorting sooner than that
Sara (Debt Camel) says
By “full amount” do you mean the full amount of your debts PLUS your IVA fees? No that wouldn’t need to to be put to your creditors. That would complete your IVA and your IVA firm will be very happy to arrange it!
But if you mean “the rest of your IVA payments”, then that would have to be approved.
Steve says
Hi first time used this site after some advice in a joint iva been going 28mths since March 2015 paying 160amth then from March 2017 payment 202amth when discharged a charging order now I want to remortgage as the property value is 88000 and outstanding balance is 44066 will there be enough equity to make an offer for a full and final as I was thinking of 9000 total 44mths or will there be more than this given joint iva 5000 X2=10000 thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The chance of you bring able to remortgage is very small. If you can it would be at a horrible rate of interest from m the sort of bad credit lender that may later raise the interest even higher. It is better to carry on with your IVA than do this.
Kelly says
Hi I have 14 months left in my Iva currently paying £100 per month so I would have £1400 left to pay. My issue is myself and 2 brothers inherited my mothers house after she passed away. My 2 brothers want to sell the house so I’ve no choice but to give in as it’s 2 against 1. The problem is will I have to tell the Iva company about my situation and risk them taking the full amount of original debt total or can I transfer the money straight into my children’s account which I originally want the money to go to? Can they take the money out of my children’s account? Or after I get the money can I ring them and ask for a settlement figure and risk losing £18000?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You do have to tell your IVA company. You should do this as soon as possible as you are breaking the terms of your IVA by not telling them.
They will expect the money you get from the house sale to be paid into the IVA – the maximum is if you repay your IVA in full which means all the debts in it, plus IVA fees and (sometimes) 8% interest on top.
Postponing the sale of the house will not help, even if your brothers were happy to do this.
You can’t transfer the money into your children’s account. The IVA firm could (and indeed normally would if you have done something dishonest like this) make you bankrupt and the money can be taken back from your children’s accounts.
Jay says
I had owed 1400 in payments , paid 85.00 a month , got inheritance they check the register , I put offer of 3,000
Had two meetings only two creditors wanted 9.ooo , they were outvoted by other creditors , they’ll settled for 6.000 to end it , I owned my own home therefore they add extra 12months to your iva , it just comes at wrong time.your iva supervisor should help you , I had step change they were brilliant .Plus if in the will they have to tell them , I said needed new car for work , and necessary house repairs , iva is really frustrating , not as easy as people think .
Anon says
I am currently in a iva I have paid about 10000 back of the debt cause had a bit of ppi but now I’m getting some more ppi which they’ve said there gonna pay straight to the iva which could possibly be able to pay the full amount of debt off would that be considered as full payment or continue with the payments I originally owed 18000
Alan says
Hi,
I am in my last 6 months of my iva , been through remortgage process and as I couldn’t release equity I have had 12 months added as per the agreement .
My question is that I am considering putting in a full and final settlement offer which will be equal to the value of all remaining payments plus the 12 months , firstly is it likely that they would accept? If not why not? And also if they do reject and I clearly state that I am willing and capable of carrying on paying as I am now if they don’t want the lump sum does the fact that I have had a variation meet give them any rights to mess with the Iva ? I am just concerned that it could open up some sort of door legally for the creditors to undo all the progress I have made .
Hope this is clear .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it’s likely they would accept. No I can’t see this could cause a problem if they say no.
Alan says
Thanks very much .
Lindsey says
I have just been awarded ill health retirement so will receive a medical pension. I have about 2 years of iva left and pay £140 per month. I want to pay it off and be done with it but with my lump sum being high will I have to pay off all that I owe the Iva over the next 2 years or all of my ORIGINAL debt which is drastically higher than the iva settlement? I would have no problem offering the full amount of the iva without considering a lower offer but I’m confused. Someone has said to me that they can’t count pension as a windfall because it isn’t a winning/inheritance /gift of any sort?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to talk to your IVA firm about this but usually a pension lump sum is treated like any other windfall so it would all have to go to your IVA up to a maximum amount of the debts in your IVA plus the IVA fees.
I assume it’s not possible to delay taking the pension? If you have an option to reduce the lump sum you get and increase the monthly payout from your pension this may be better for you. I suggest you ask your pension provider if this is possible – if it is, you need some advice on your options.
Ian says
Hi, may I ask how long this ‘hold’ over pension limp sum can possibly last? Is there a limitation law? I can take a small lump sum (£5k) from July next year and my IVA completes in October next year. Would it be worth waiting to take the lump sum?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As a general rule, you should not take money out of a pension if you are in an IVA. Normally it will be claimed by your IVA firm.
It may be all right if your pension is excluded from your IVA, but you need to get this confirmed in writing by your IVA firm before you take the money.
As soon as your IVA has finished and you have the completion certificate you can take the money out.
Fiona says
I have had a full and final settlement accepted at the beginning of July! The payment was made straight away, I haven’t heard from them since, (no confirmation letter of payment, no steph by step guide of what to expect) the issue is I work for a bank and have done for 10 years, because the Iva is showing as active I am unable to go for other jobs within the banking industry, nor am I able to replace my car that’s about to go bang some time soon (which was one of the reasons why a settlement was agreed) I know my Iva will remain on my record for a full 6 years but a settled Iva still is better then an active one, how do I hurry this along?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone them up and ask what is happening and if it need to supply any more information.
Anon says
Hi,
I have £40/45k worth of unsecured debt. I am married and the mortgage belongs to my wife. I’m looking at applying for an IVA however a relative as said that they will gift the money if a full and final settlement is possible.
I am self employed, my work is seasonal and between October – March will be very quiet and a struggle to even put food on the table. Crude calculations suggest I have £150 per month available to make payments between April – August. I have no assets or anything of value.
Recently I disclosed to a relative my situation and they have stated they would be very surprised if my offer of £150 per month (April – August only) would be accepted by my creditors. They suggested I enquire about a full and final settlement. The same relative has made the very generous offer of funding the full and final settlement up to a maximum of £10K.
My questions are
1) Is this possible?
2) What kind of settlement figure would be accepted by the creditors, is £10k enough?
3) Are their any recommendations for IP’s to use/avoid?
4) How long would the process take?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, quite a few questions…
That’s a lot of unsecured debt, can you say how it has got to be so big?
Have you currently been making the minimum payments to these debts? If not, when did you default?
If the mortgage is in your wife’s name, I assume the house is as well. Does your wife have unsecured debt too?
Is your wife paying the mortgage and her share of the other bills and expenses from her own income?
Anon says
Hi Sarah,
Debt increased massively due to refinancing old debt/consolidation.
Minimum payments stopped around Jan/Feb this year and defaults have been placed on all accounts over the summer as far as I am aware.
The house belongs to my wife and she has some unsecured debt
My wife is currently paying the interest only on the mortgage and covering household bills.
Anon says
Hi,
Hopefully you have enough information to point me in the right direction.
Thanks
Alan says
Hi.
I have made a very good F&F offer on my IVA but my IP is telling me that it will take 3 months to make this offer to the creditors .
Is it normal or acceptable to wait a quarter of a year to get an answer on an offer ? I get the feeling that they are trying to put me off making an early settlement tbh.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A couple of months is pretty normal – have you asked why it will take 3 months?
Alan says
Yes but they don’t really give a satisfactory answer , just keep saying that’s how long it will take , I’m assuming they are very busy but I don’t see why I should have to wait .
Claire says
We were paying £728 a month into IVA. I was made redundant in Match so April & may were paid then they reduced payment to minimum minus 10% to £474. We then elected to take payment holidays as I was not working in June, July, Aug, Sept and now I’ve had some party time work. IVA in month 45 + payment holiday months. Was thinking of offering £6,500 borr9wrd from parents. Do you think this will be enough?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much do you think you could afford to pay now per month? Do you have a house with equity?
Claire Mulgrue says
We will be asked re remortgage in May but the lender will say no. They already have. I just want it finished to move honest. So this will mean another 12 months payments so we just want it ended. Just want to maximise chance of them accepting our offer
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Paying the minimum less 10% for 30 months (your 15 remaining plus 12 more plus 3? for payment holiday) is about £6300 so this may be accepted.
Creditors however would get more if you could get more work and the IVA payments would return to your previous levels. That’s why I asked what you could actually afford to pay at the moment… Is this less than £478 a month? If it is, this is the point to emphases to your IVA firm – carrying on as you are is not an option.
Claire Mulgrue says
Thank you for your advice. X
emma says
If my husband has an IVA and is going for a divorce settlement. Will this be taken by his IVA? Is this considered a windfall? it will only be small as we were only married less than a year.
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it would count as a windfall.
Jj says
I am in an IVA for 7 months with 53 months remaining with £8,500 left to pay which 70% was written off. I could potentially receive a lump sum from friends or family members. What’s the chances of my offer to be accepted if I could match the remaining £8,500? Would I need to also do an salary review after as well? What’s the process if I manage to get a full lump sum from friends and family?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to tell your IVA firm that you have the offer of this money – they will normally do a review of your situation, so if you have just had a big pay rise say they are likely to want more… they will probably need confirmation from friend/relative that the money is there, then this is proposed as a variation to your creditors. Once it is accepted, then the money is paid to your IVA firm and your IVA will be closed.
Jj says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your advice.
I got made redundant for a month and got another similar job after with an extra £500 on my salary. I have informed the IVA company but the staff wasn’t 100% sure with the information he provided which is why I am seek for additional help. Do you think they will accept £8,500 as there is £8,500 remaining or do you think they will take an offer below? I am not very familiar with this process. My apologies.
Many thanks,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Extra 500 a year? A month? After tax?
Jj says
£500 a year before tax
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So it’s only going to be £30-35 a month after tax, nice but not huge. And I expect when your annual review is done some of your expenses will have gone up a bit so it may make no difference to your IVA or what would be accepted as a settlement now. Time to talk to your IVA comapany I think!
Jj says
Thank you! I didn’t expected to end my IVA early until my friends and family suggested to give me a lump sum.
HarrysGlasses says
Hi, Hoping you can advise. My IVA was for 33k debt plus 8k costs totalling 41k and was originally set at an extended term of 6 years. I have paid in about 22k so far with 6 months left to go which will equate to another 2k so I’m due to have paid 24k off altogether in the 6 year term. I’m about to be made redundant with a 23k payout and my IP has confirmed I can keep 6 months wages but the remainder will have to be paid in, so I’d be giving them about 8k. It’s unlikely I’ll secure another role quickly that would pay enough to cover childcare and I’ve got 2 small children that I’d like to be with more and I’m wondering if I can bring this IVA to an end early so I can go part time, by offering the 8k plus the 6 months payments still to go? So a total offer of 10k. I’d have paid off 32k with this offer. What do you think my chances are of this being accepted?
I’m also confused about the remortgage thing, will my mortgage company sign off a remortgage with an IVA on my record? And if not is it really ok for my iva company to push for a 7th year given that I have no job?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The reason your IVA company (and your creditors) may be reluctant to accept the offer you are proposing is that they may wonder if you are just about to get a great new job which would let you make another year of payments to them. You could talk to your IVA firm about this – there is a chance they may be happy to get this all wrapped up now, but don’t be surprised if they aren’t keen.
If this offer is rejected, you just pay them the 8K, carry on for the next 6 months job hunting, presumably failing to find one that would let you cover your child care costs, and paying the IVA until it reaches the end.
If you don’t have a job, no company will offer you a remortgage – it’s completely academic. And if you don’t have a job at the end of the IVA term you can ask for your IVA to be varied so that it is closed without a final 12 months being added as you couldn’t remortgage.
HarrysGlasses says
Thanks for the response. Would they be likely to accept the 8k plus the equivalent of the 15 months payments out of my redundancy. So I’m paying them everything they’re likely to get but up front instead. I don’t want to shirk my debts, but I’m really keen to put it to bed so i have one less thing to worry about if I do struggle to get another job.
Jill Richardson says
I want to leave the iva and pay off my creditors directly as the charges made by the iva company could be going to the creditors. Can i do this
Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well yes, you can let your IVA fail and then get in contact with your creditors. But most of the IVA fees will already have been paid from your first year’s fees so this may not be sensible for you and may not benefit your creditors much.
How long ago did your IVA start? How much of a write of will there be at the end if it completes? Do you have any other reason to want to end the IVA except to increase what your creditors get?
Lorraine Hayford says
My Son is coming to the end of his 5 year IVA, last payment should be April 2018…….He has no property, so the equity clause etc won’t apply. There is a strong possibility that around February his salary will improve by about 10,000 pa, is there any chance they will extend the IVA over further years because if this, or will it just mean he has to pay a lot more into it over the last few months ? Thank you for your time…..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, they can’t prolong his IVA because of this. He should inform his IVA firm when his salary increases. It is only his net salary after tax that matters. It sounds as though he may just need to make higher payments for the last 2 or 3 months.
It would also be sensible fir him to put aside his increased salary for those remaining months not donee it – sone IVA firms are quite slow dealing with things and it would be good to have the money there waiting for when they do add it up and tell him!
Lorraine Hayford says
Thanks for your prompt reply, it’s a relief to know it can’t be extended ?, I’ll pass this info on to him, thanks again ……
KBH says
Hi there. I am 2 years into my IVA. I pay £360 per month. 43k debt, aiming to repay £22k in total.
Firstly, My husband’s parents want to give him £50k towards a house deposit. Would this have to be included in my IVA, even though it’s been given to him? If so we will ask them to give it to us after 3 more years. It’s difficult because our families don’t know I’m in an IVA.
Secondly we private rent. We have 3 children at home all the time and also two of my step kids (who aren’t accounted for in IVA budget as they’re with us just two days per week. Husbands landed a new brilliantly paid job and is keen to move to a bigger rented property as its very difficult having 7 of us in a 3 bed house (30% of the time). Can we make the decision then inform IP or must I ask permission? After allowing for more expensive rent and council tax we will have a new surplus of £500 on top of the £360. So I could start repaying £860 a month for the last three years.
Thanks so much for your advice!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Money given to your husband is his, nothing to do with your IVA. Obviously don’t put it in a joint account, it needs to stay in his name only! He can buy a house and get a mortgage now if he can manage this on his salary alone, but you won’t be able to be on a mortgage for 6 years from the start of your IVA.
You don’t need your IVA firm’s permission to move house.
At the moment are the bills split 50/50 between you so you are paying half as expenses when working out your IVA payment.
PS well done your husband!
KBH says
Thanks so much for your advice I really appreciate it. We do not have any joint financial accounts at all, however, when I set up my Iva, they asked for all my husbands salary details and put all his income on my budget, allowing him to keep just £250 a month which we spend in a flash anyway as the IP only allows for 3 children when we really have 5. So have they unfairly led me to believe my husbands decisions are limited too? If so, what should I do? Thanks Again, KBH
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you have two options here. One would be for your husband to get the money from his nice parents and use some of it to offer to settle your IVA now, by paying off the rest of your payments.
Another is to check with your IVA firm that they wouldn’t require any extra income from your husband. This could lead to some discussions as to what you can afford… it may be a lot simpler to try to settle the IVA early!
KBH says
Thank you again. Would they expect the full 44K plus interest to be repaid? If so that’ll be most of the 50k gone. Or do you have an idea of a sensible offer? Thanks so much xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I meant offer the total of your remaining payments. This isn’t a windfall for you, it doesn’t have to be paid to your creditors at all. Your husband can choose to make the offer, but if he doesn’t your IVA will just continue. So there is no reason why he should offer more than what your repayments would be,
Ian mcintyre says
A question from me please. I have a clause in my IVA that states my work pension has been excluded from my IVA. I have since found 2 old frozen pensions that I had forgotten about. If I cash these in, can they be seen as windfall?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Probably, yes. You need to ask your IVA firm to confirm this.
Ian says
Hello. If I was to draw my pension and use the lump sum to offer a full and final settlement. I have 13 payments of £182 left to complete the Iva. My lump sum could be worth £9500, but I would obviously offer £2500 to settle. I’m worried that they may ask for more? Do they get info on how much my lump sum is? Are the pension providers obliged to pay to the Iva company and not me? I just don’t know the best way forward.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You must get your IVA firm’s agreement to doing this BEFORE you take any money from your pension or they will want it all and expect your IVA to continue.
But why would you want to do this? You only have a year to go… and you have to pay income tax on the money you take out so it would cost more than the remaining payments are.
Ian says
Thank you for answering so promptly. I have had to leave my job due to Ill health, I have another job lined up and I have asked my Iva company for a break in payments in the meantime. My wife is taking responsibility for all the bills in our house and I want to clear her debts as well so the lump sum would clear those too. It would be a fresh start for us, but not having this over us would have a significant positive impact on my health.
Anon says
I have 3 years left on my IVA and I absolutely hate the company I am with, they hound me constantly and when i need their help they dont want to know
I pay £80 per month and they have received £8,000 from a PPI claim I so want to get out of this but just cannot afford to pay them off
Total debt around £14,000
Is there anyway I can get out of this as they are causing lots of stress and anxiety
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you afford the £80 a month? Are you buying or renting?
Anon says
Renting and my rent has just been increased
Just about but other bills are taking taking over and it is becoming a struggle i dont have much left once all my bills are paid
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One option is to see if you would qualify for a DRO, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/end-iva-change-to-dro/
Anon says
Thanks i tried that and i dont qualify unfortunately
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you tried it recently? Which debt adviser did you talk to?
If that won’t work, your only other options are to ask your IVA firm to reduce your payments by 15% and try to struggle through the next three years or to let your IVA fail and go bankrupt.
sylvia says
we are currently in the last 11 months of our iva we pay £450 a month plus we have a mortgage of £1,100 a month .I am finishing work due to ill health. My husband wants to pay the mortgage off by releasing some money from his pension. If he cant we will be really struggling to make ends meet.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you want to pay off the mortgage and carry on with the IVA payments? Or pay off the IVA as well?
Do you have medical advice saying you need to stop work?
sylvia says
we just want to pay the mortgage off and carry on with the iva
Iam 60 now and am waiting for surgery my husband has got 2 years to retirement.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You must NOT take any money from his pension to repay the mortgage unless the IVA company confirms in writing first that this is OK – otherwise the IVA firm may claim the money to repay your debts in full, plus their fees, not just the remaining monthly payments you have.
Is it unlikely you can go back to work after the surgery? If it is, then a better approach may be to tell the IVA company that your IVA is no longer affordable because you can’t work because of your health – ask them if it is possible to complete both your IVAs now on a “funds paid to date” bases (ie you don’t need to pay any more).
If that can happen, then you can later decide what to do about the mortgage. I think you needs some advice on this. Taking a lot of money out of the pension now whilst your husband is still working may well mean paying a huge amount of tax. It may be better to take just enough out to keep you going with the mortgage payments until he retires and the tax problem gets a lot less. Has he spoken to Pension Wise about his options?
sylvia says
we were in a debt management plan for 12 months then the company rang to say we would be better off in a iva which me or my husband new nothing about. we are in the sixth year of the iva.
HarrysGlasses says
Hi, I’m going through redundancy with £23,383.50 paid in December. I will have 25 months payments left to make of £352pm including a 12 month extension. I have offered £10,549.50, calculated as follows:
I Can keep 6 months. My monthly take home is £2,667 x 6 = £16,002.
This leaves £7,381.50 available to my IVA.
Having retained 6 months we will pay our contributions for January to June totalling £2,112.
So we know we are able to pay £7,381.50 + £2,112 = £9,493.50
We then included a further 3 months payments which we would pay out of our retained redundancy money.
My husbands job is now at risk but assuming he retains his job our ongoing income and expenditure will look as follows:
£1966 Total Monthly income
Monthly expenditure is £3108
The last thing we want is to fail the IVA in its last year, particularly a year that has been added by extension. We have never missed a payment and have already paid in more than we were estimated to at the beginning. Ultimately the creditors would miss out on 6 months x £352 but receive the next 9 months payment up front. How likely is this offer to be accepted in your experience?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know – as I said before, although to you this may look like a generous offer, your creditors may wonder if you are about to walk into a better paid job!
If you have made the offer, all you can do is wait and see. If you haven’t, then I suggest waiting until the end of the 6 month period and seeing if you have found a job and what your husband’s job situation is like.
It’s natural to worry, but so close to the end and with having been made redudant, your IVA is HIGHLY unlikely to fail, provided you are talking to your IVA firm about your situation. If you can’t get another job, the IVA firm can proposed that your IVA is treated as completed on the basis of what you have proposed so far.
Nina says
I want to find out how to split IVA between me and my ex husband.
We are half way through paying IVA we have got 28 months remaing. It’s now about time to divide IVA so he have got his half to worry about and so do I.
However once this been separated I would like to return to my country and my partners offered me help to pay IVA off but only my half.
How would creditors react to this? Will they let me do what I want to make me debt free??
My ex is happy to pay monthly repayments till the end of IVA for the half he owns.
Please advise and answer to me quieries as soon as possible
This would be highly appreciated.
Kind Regards
Nina
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may think of your IVA as a joint one, but actually it is already two separate IVAs. I suggest you talk to your IVA firm about the fact you no longer live with your ex and that you are happy to carry on paying off your IVA.
rachel says
Hi
I have an IVA and have 20 months left. I am paying 245 a month at the moment which amounts to 4900. My sister has offered to pay off my IVA as i’m really stressed that i’m going to lose my job and this whole IVA thing is just stressing me out. My sister doesn’t have it all though, she has about 3000. Is this likely to be accepted? Are there any major risks of putting the offer forward? Additionally, how long would it all take roughly from sending the offer?
Thank you
Rachel
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have a house with equity? If you do lose your job, would you get a large amount of redundancy?
rachel says
I rent so I don’t have any equity, I have only been at my job for 6 months so no redundancy money.
Thanks
Rachel
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What a shame you didn’t go bankrupt – it would all be over by now :(
I doubt whether your creditors would accept 3k at the moment. It’s possible, but unlikely. If you do lose your job and can’t find another one, you can then ask for a variation to your IVA to end it “on the basis of funds paid to date” – ie you wouldn’t have to pay any more.
rachel says
Okay. Thanks for your help. So unless I have the full 4900 it is not likely to be accepted?
Thanks
Rachel
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t really like guessing – 4k may have a reasonable chance but 3k seems too low. Of course in 6 months time 3k may be more acceptable.
Nicola says
I have 2 years 1 month left on my IVA and pay £99 per month. My income has drastically reduced as my daughter has left home for university which has ended tax credit and child benefit payments. I only work 2 days a week as I am a carer to my partner. I am struggling to pay the monthly payment and my parents have offered me a gift to help end the IVA so I wouldn’t have to worry about finding the £99 each month.
They can afford to give me £1500 to end it but i’m not sure this will be a reasonable offer? If it isn’t, my income/expenditure shows I wont be able to afford the payments and the IVA will fail. Any advice is welcome. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The fact that your income would drop when your daughter left home should have been known about at the start of the IVA – was there no plan made for this? Has your husband’s health got worse during the IVA?
Nicola says
I was working full time when the IVA was started and moved to part time a year ago to care for him as his health deteriorated quite quickly. It is still deteriorating, he has had PIP for last 2 years and has made half of it available for income purposes even though the debt was before I met him. Now my income has reduced further Im struggling to pay the monthly payment. The remainder of my partners PIP is needed for himself to fund a vehicle & petrol etc for many hospital appointments so he cannot pay anymore than he does.
Thanks for the quick reply.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case I think you should talk to your IVA firm and ask if your IVA can be ended early without further payment. You can produce evidence about your husband’s health and you reduced income. That would be my first thought, not asking your elderly parents to contribute.
Nicola says
Ok, thanks. I will contact them tomorrow and see what they say. I didn’t realise you could ask for an early termination without offering them some payment as a final settlement. My parents are not well off either so if I can sort it without them paying that would be a weight lifted off me too.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t normally, but you have been doing your best to keep up with your IVA through very difficult circumstances and your creditors may agree to end it – worth a try, you can always offer a settlement later.
Anon says
Hi I entered an iva at beginning of August this year as i had previously been in a dmp for 12 years and unfortunately accured further unsecured debt.I finally decided to set up an iva as the monthly minimum payments were too much. i have £42000 of unsecured debt and my iva was agreed at £185 a month with extension of a year. So 6 yrs. I have just found out that I could be made redundant in Feb. I should receive a redundancy payout for about £17000. On my Iva it works out that £185 ×60 months would be £13320 that is all the Iva fees included. Would I beable to offer full and final settlement of the full amount left.? and then my Iva would be closed.?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unfortunately that isn’t how an IVA works. You will be allowed to keep 6 months wages – so you can get by and pay the IVA whilst you are looking for another job. But the rest of the money has to be paid into your IVA.
Your IVA isn’t an obligation to only make the monthly payments. It’s an obligation to pay as much as you can to your debts. So the redundancy money goes in and your IVA continues.
Anon says
Thank you for replying so quickly. How is a full and final settlement decided.? I’m wondering could I ask iva company for a full and final amount.? then if i could get that amount as a gift from relatives or friends to pay before I am made redundant. Would I then get to keep my redundancy.? and then I could give back the amount that was gifted to me.? sorry for the questions
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It normally takes a while to get a F&F agreed and then a couple of months more to get your IVA closed down… It’s not likely to be finished by end February I am afraid, I don’t think that plan will work.
Anon says
Thank u again. I’m just extremely worried now as if i am made redundant i live in an area which has high unemployment and I really don’t think I’m going to be able to get another job on the wages I am now. Which would lead to reduced amount for iva which could then fail. This is really panicking me as i had years of worry about the debt and then when I have finally managed to get things under control and in a better financial position all this happens. I thought i would be able to use my redundancy money to pay off the Iva and finally be able to breathe then all this happens.
Sorry when is best time to tell Iva people that redundancy could happen? as i haven’t had any written confirmation yet.?
Thank u
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It must be very worrying. Are you buying or renting?
Anon says
I am currently living with parents. Paying £350 a month for rent and bills. but in reality would want to get my own place renting obvisously as wouldnt beable to buy. From reading other comments it seems that basically i will be able to keep 6 months worth of redundancy but if i do find another job within them 6 months i will then have to pay whatevers left into iva. But if i get a job at lower rate of pay would i be able to keep the difference between the lower wage and what u have been earning to top up my new wage for 6 months.? I’m the sort of person that obvisously would want to get a job as soon, as I’ve never not worked. But I would like to make sure i have got enough to be able to adjust to lower wage or to still be able to get a better paid job in the long run. Is it worth me just taking any job that first comes up or use the 6 months to try and get a job that pays at least the same as what i am on now.? thank u for your advice
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“if i get a job at lower rate of pay would i be able to keep the difference between the lower wage and what u have been earning to top up my new wage for 6 months.?” you will need to discuss with your IVA firm what should happen as there will probably need to be a variation to the IVA as you won’t be able to afford such large payments.
Without a house, it is a shame you didn’t go bankrupt originally instead of choosing an IVA… but you are where you are and a lot will depend on the sorts of jobs you might be able to get.
Anon says
Thank u again. I understand what u mean. Sorry one last question I haven’t yet recieved written confirmation of redundancy yet. Shall I wait til I have notification of redundancy before speaking with Iva company. Im just worried as havent yet had anything in writing and it may all happen really quickly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it can’t happen that quickly, they have to give you the usual notice in addition to redundancy. I would wait until you are sure, but start keeping an eye open for jobs, doing up your CV etc
Anon says
Thanks. That’s what I’m worried about as it has only been verbal through the grapevine no notification in writing yet but the 6th of Feb is the date apparently. I’m stressing as unsure of whole situation and how long I have to tell Iva company of impending redundancy. It was meant to help relieve all the stress by being in iva now all I’m doing is stressing more. Thank you for all your help I will get my c.v. sorted
Chloe says
Hiya
Can you offer an F&F within the first year of your IVA?
If a family member or friend is offering to pay it off for you, will they ask for proof of where this money has come from?
My IVA will be £100 for 7 years.. after 1 year i will owe £7,200.. if my family member was to offer the full amount would they ask for anything more on top of this? Interest etc?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask why your IVA is for 7 years? Is it a 6 year IVA plus another year because you have a house with more than 15% equity?
How large were your debts? Are you struggling at the moment or just fed up with it already?
Sandy says
Hi thank you in advance for helping me. I have 18 months left of my IVA I also couldn’t remortgage and got the extra 12 months added. My husband really wants to move as our family is growing. My husband is willing to give me his life savings to pay the full 18 months in full. I’m also considering quitting my job to be a full time mum. Do you think they would agree to the settlement amount better to have 18 months up front than over 18 months surely they would view it this way and let me go and release the land reg to our house? I’m almost too scared to ask for fear of being turned down. My husband is suffering from depression as we can’t move. Just a nightmare as my son is autistic and we are worried how he will deal with a new baby in his bedroom! Could cry worse thing is they don’t care!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would expect they will be happy to take the 18 months up front.
BUT even when you IVA has finished, you are very unlikely to be able to get a new mortgage whilst the IVA marker is still on your credit record, ie until 6 years after it started. You may still want to settle the IVA early, but you need to know moving immediately and buying somewhere may not be possible.
Steve says
Hi just asking a question we are in a joint iva will be 36months come March 2018 we currently pay 202amonth only my wife works and I receive dla been retired from work on health grounds for past 4years we are in a joint iva for 5yrs and 3months and my wife as a small pension worth 8000 we are wondering if we can draw this to offer a full and final offer to close the iva I worked on the remaining 27mths and the extra 12 months for equity =39×202=7878.00 what do you think I am 57 and my wife turns 55 in March and we have no chance of a remortgage thanks Steve
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have over 15% equity in your house? Also see https://debtcamel.co.uk/iva-pension-changes/
Steve says
Hi Sara I’ve looked into a remortgage but based on our affordability could only be offered a secured loan of 9000 which I declined and another broker could only offer 6000 on a remortgage myself retired on health grounds getting dla and my wife works full_time in retail and she as a small pension worth 8200 and thought about using this to offer a full and final come March 2018 will be 3 yrs of a 5yr and 3mths iva and adding extra 12months payments =7878 we pay 202amth and our current mortgage is 549.73 house value 87000 current balance 42980 thanks for you’re info
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so you do have over 15% equity so an extra year would be needed.
If you are struggling, have you asked for a review to see if your contributions could be decreased?
If you’re not struggling, then you would probably be better off just plodding on with the IVA and keeping her pension intact. The problem with your wife taking her pension money now is as she is still working. 75% of it would be taxed as income, so you wouldn’t get as much as you expect from it.
If she does want to take the pension money out, this has to be put to your creditors as a variation BEFORE she does this, as otherwise your IVA firm will claim the lot and your IVA will continue, so be careful!
Steve says
Hi Sara thanks for the reply this is a old pension separate from her main one and my pension drawdown is coming to a end in May this year and was wondering to use this pension of my wife to offer enough as a full and final as we need to replace our boiler and we also need new double glazing and also a walk in shower and was hoping to bring it to close as the way it stands we looking at least with the equity at least 3years of being in the iva thanks
Nicky says
Hello ,
I have 5 more payments on my IVA and then I have been told it will be finished . I pay £270 a month so the final payment being £1350.00.
My parents have said they will give this to me so I can be better of a month and start to rebuild my credit status .
I have asked my company ,but they are saying it is better to just carry on paying till May . I have been paying for 5 years now and just really want out .My debt was £21.000 and I have paid back £15.000 . Do you think it is worth asking them to take a settlement of £1500 to just end it or am I being to impatient ??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are being impatient. An early settlement has to be agreed in a meeting of your creditors and the IVA firm would have to look at the last year in detail before it called the meeting. Basically it would take at least 2 possibly 3 months to go through, with just 5 months to go your IVA firm is right that this isn’t worth bothering with.
If your parents want to help, they could transfer £270 a month to you for the next 5 months. No hassle, immediate help. (Nice parents!)
Your credit record isn’t going to improve much before the IVA drops off your record anyway, so an extra couple of months here won’t make any real difference. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/repair-credit-record-iva/ for the process of cleaning up your credit file after an IVA.
Nicky says
Thank you for your reply . This seems the best situation to just carry on till May until the IVA ends . Thanks again
Jane says
My husband is being made redundant does that have any impact on my IVA?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry to hear that. The short answer is no, providing you can carry on with your IVA payments. There is a big spectrum here, from a generous redundancy package and your husband expecting to get a new job very soon to just a few weeks pay and it will be hard for him to get a job which pays anywhere near that much. Also how far into your IVA are you? And do you have a mortgage? If you can say some more, I could perhaps give more useful pointers.
Also see https://debtcamel.co.uk/redundant-debts/ which doesn’t cover the IVA aspect.
Jane says
Thank you. I am 4 years into my IVA and we have a mortgage with 4 years left to pay. My husband is 62. He is a local government officer but not much service so no generous redundancy package. He is accessing his pension taking the maximum lump sum. I have calculated that if we draw an amount equal to his salary each month including his small monthly pension the total will last beyond the life of the IVA enabling me to pay my IVA each month. Am I obliged to inform Payplan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should discuss this with Payplan BEFORE he makes a final decision about drawing his pension early. I would hope that what you are proposing is fine, but please get this agreed first. Also is there any chance he could get another job? That could work out much better financially for you both than taking his pension early.
Jane says
At 62 his options will be limited he intends to look for something else though. If he doesn’t take his pension we won’t be able to manage our outgoings as his redundancy payment is only £6.5k. His accrued pension is not reduced for early payment because of his redundancy.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK< but you still need to talk to Payplan before he draws his pension. As I said, I hope it won't be a problem but better safe than sorry.
Jane says
Why would Payplan have an issue with him drawing his pension?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you did this, your IVA provider would claim your whole lump sum and expect you to carry on making the IVA payments as well… All I am saying is please check!
Jane says
But it’s not my lump sum it’s my husbands he hasn’t got an IVA. The IVA is solely mine
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am just going to say again I hope there will not be any problem but check with your IVA firm first. Better safe than sorry.
Teddy says
Hi, I have just started an IVA, totalling just over £10k, I’ve only made one payment so far. My parents have just found out and want to make an offer of £9.5k full and final. Is this likely to be accepted? Are you allowed to do this so soon in an IVA?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they can offer a settlement and yes I would think it could well be accepted. What a huge pity you didn’t ask them about this before starting your IVA – now you will have the IVA in your credit record for 6 years :(
Teddy says
Thanks, that’s really good to hear. The original situation was a lot more dire than where I ended with the final IVA, don’t know how that original conversation would have gone with them ????
Victor van der Westhuizen says
Hi,
I am 23 months into my IVA and would like to pay it off sooner. when I first called creditfix, they told me that I would need to pay approximately £5000. I was then transferred to another operator who said she will work out my final payment and email it to me.
So I received the email and was told I will need to pay £27000 to settle early. £27000 is more than my original debt.
Before my IVA I was with a debt management firm which I was paying £150 a month for 25 months.
If over 4 years I’ve paid approximately £6000 into my debts (Part Debt Management & Part IVA). How do I possibly owe them more money than my original debt?
All I want to do is get my ex partner off the mortgage as she no longer wants to be on.
Any advice would be great :-)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have been quoted a figure which is the debts that went into your IVA, plus the high Creditfix fees plus alos possibly 8% per year on the debts.
Where would you get the money from for an early settlement?
Victor says
£5000 would not be a problem, my parents would help me, but £27000 is insane. I am supposed to be coming out of debt, not gaining more.
I feel hopeless
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are paying about £100 a month into your IVA? for 4 more years (including an extra year as you won’t be able to remortgage) that makes £5000 seem like a reasonable amount to me.
You should write to CreditFix saying your parents have offered you this money to help settle your IVA early and you would like it put as an offer to your creditors. They can’t refuse to do this.
BUT even when your IVA is completed, you do realise you aren’t going to be able to remortgage for then next 4 years because the IVA marker will still be on your credit record. And the mortgage lender is very unlikely to agree to your ex’s name being removed.
Victor says
Thank you for your advice. Don’t suppose you know how I could go about getting my ex off the mortage.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you have a clean credit record AND an income which is clearly large enough to justify the mortgage in your own right, they may be no way to do this :(
James says
Hello there,
I’m currently 12 months into an IVA with £9,000 left to pay. What offer roughly would be good enough to end it early? I recently also received £6,000 as a gift.
Any help of advice would be amazing. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well probably about 9000 unless there is a specific reason why you are struggling?
Also any offer needs to be couched in terms of “I have been offered £x by xxxx if it will help settle my IVA” and the person offering this will have to confirm it. If you have just received. “Gift” this really should be paid into your IVA now and your IVA will just carry on.
James says
Ah okay, I see. I may be coming into a windfall shortly of £10,000 if I was to receive this also as a gift. Would it wipe out the IVA?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. Windfall’s don’t reduce what you have to pay to your IVA at all – well not unless the windfall is big enough to repay ALL your debts PLUS the IVA firms fees. Where is this windfall coming from?
James says
The windfalls in total would equal to around £15,000. these are gifts from my parents who do not know about the IVA. My IVA was initially for £10,500 and I have paid £1,740 into it over 12 months. Would the £10,000 gift be enough to pay the remaining £8,760?
I’ve been told that if an IVA fails it would be better as I could just pay the Creditors and be over with it, is this true? I want the IVA nightmare to end as soon as possible.
Thank you for your help its very much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to tell your parents or they are just wasting this money. How large are the debts in your IVA?
“I’ve been told that if an IVA fails it would be better as I could just pay the Creditors and be over with it, is this true? I want the IVA nightmare to end as soon as possible.”
If an IVA fails you end up with the debts plus the IVA fees and sometimes the creditors add interest. Also the IVA stays on your credit record for the 6 years, is isn’t deleted. This is hardly ever a good option if you can afford the IVA payments.
Steve says
Hi wondering if it is possible to offer full anan offer to iva my as a drawdown pension after tax 7300 we are in a joint iv will be 36 mthscome March 2018 iva took out March 2015 for 5yrs and 3 mths and we pay 202amth =7878and could we offer 7300 is this possible including 12 mths equity thanks for reading
Vicky Gent says
Hi there, my son is in an IVA since December 2017 paying £104 per month. I cannot cope we with the stress of it making sure she has theee monthly payment in his account. if I offered the remaining months as a gift to pay it off would they accept ? Would it end? So 56 x 104 = £5800 I know it will be on his record. He owns his own flat without enough equity …
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your proposed gift would be voted on by his creditors. If he has no equity now, they may well accept. But can you afford this money? Don’t get yourself into a financial mess trying to help your son. His monthly IVA payments should be manageable.
Stephannie Taylor says
Hi, I am year into my IVA and have never missed a payment. My family have pulled together to try and help me settle it early. I currently owe £10,000. My family can get £6000 together. Do you think this is likely to be accepted?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When you say you “owe” £10k, is that the amount of debt in your IVA or the total of your remaining IVA payments? And if you own a house, have you taken the extra year into account?
Nushra Mansuri says
Hi. I have about 7 payments left on my IVA of £504 p/month. I am taking a drop in salary of about £12k per month from May as well as having to pay £670 p/month child maintenance payments. So far, I have asked for a 15% decrease on my monthly payments but I have asked them to tell me my options. Is it best if I put forward my own suggestions i.e. do you think they’d consider writing my debt off as I am so close to completion. Do you think they would do this? Am I risking anything by asking?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you don’t think you can afford 504 – 15%, then you should ask for a further reduction or for your IVA to be ended early on the basis of what you have already paid.
Sheila Dixon says
My son is in an IVA and has done the 5 years. They checked that he had no collateral in his house after this and so did the full 6th year. At this point the company changed to another one. They still will not release him from the IVA although the 6th year was 2 years ago. His IVA company have been back to court to extend it so they could see if he had any PPI claims. They are now taking it back to court to extend it again to see if his Tax Code by HMRC has been done correctly over the last 4 years. This is getting ridiculous as he cannot move on until it is finally completed. Is there anything he can do to get his completion document and finish this once and for all? He has paid no money since the 6th year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
An IVA firm does not have to “go to court” to extend an IVA term, they simply don’t close it.
Because of this, and because you are reporting second-hand what had happened to your, I am not really sure what is happening and whether your son has been co-operating with the IVA firm. If he feels he has done everything they have asked, then he should out in a formal complaint about the delays in closing his IVA, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/complaint-iva/.