Individual Voluntary Arrangement
An IVA is a less severe alternative to bankruptcy allowing you to become free from overwhelming debts by making affordable regular payments.
What is an IVA?
An IVA can help you repay your debts at a level you can afford without putting further strain on your everyday finances.
It can provide the breathing space that will help you to get back on track.
An IVA is a legal process and can only be setup under the supervision of a regulated Insolvency Practitioner.
An Insolvency Practitioner is a regulated qualified professional who specialises in matters concerning formal insolvency procedures.
You need to speak to an IVA provider such as ourselves to explain your financial situation.
If an IVA is suitable, and should you wish to proceed, we’ll help you prepare an IVA proposal. This is your offer to your creditors. It details your financial circumstances and how much you can realistically pay each month towards your debts.
The proposal is presented to all creditors – who vote on it. If 75% (by value of the total debt) who choose to vote (some don’t), do so in favour your IVA is accepted. All creditors, even those who have not voted or voted against must accept the IVA.
We Provide IVAs. An informal chat (about 20 minutes) with an advisor will make clear if an IVA is suitable for you.
What Can An IVA Do For Me?
Give Me Affordable Payments
You’ll be able to breathe again as you only need repay your debts at a rate you can realistically afford after you’ve met your living costs.
Stop Creditors Chasing Me
We’ll take the pressure off right away be telling your creditors and their collection agents you’re applying for a IVA. Once the IVA is approved and while it is in place they shouldn’t contact you, nor can they take legal action for debts included in the IVA.
Write-Off Some Of My Debts
Unlike debt management, once the agreement successfully completes any remaining debt is written off. Typically people completing an IVA will have some debt written off – but this depends on personal circumstances.
Stop Interest On My Debts
Once the IVA is in place and while payments are maintained; no interest nor charges can be added to the debts included (some exceptions apply). This alone could save you £1000’s compared to struggling to repay these debts for years.
Put Everything Into One Payment
No more worrying about which payments go out on which date. You make a single payment, monthly or weekly on the day or date that suits you.
Reduce Risk Of Repossession / Eviction
For homeowners – mortgage/secured loan(s) payments are prioritised before calculating IVA payments. This can make a mortgage affordable again and reduce the risk of repossession. The same is true of rent and eviction.
*Debt write-off depends on the personal circumstances of the individual applicant.
Important Considerations
While there are many benefits to an IVA, there are also important considerations you must take into account.
We do not charge an upfront fee for the work we do.
We receive payment only where an IVA is successfully implemented and these fees are taken from the monthly payments you make into the IVA.
Should the IVA fail, some of the money paid will have gone towards these fees and not to repaying your debts, which still remain payable in full, together with interest, but less any payments made to them in the IVA.
Most people considering an IVA are likely to already have an impaired credit rating.
Ultimately, the only way to recover this is to settle the debts – and by an IVA is better than not at all.
However, entering into an IVA will have a negative effect on your credit rating for 6 years, which is how long information is retained by the credit reference agencies.
Debts Included
By debts included we mean debts treated as an unsecured creditor and subject to negotiated repayment. This includes but is not limited to:
- Debts from unsecured borrowing; e.g. personal loans, payday loans, credit cards, overdrafts, catalogue debts, store cards etc.
- Council tax arrears
- Debts subject to CCJ’s
- Any service which you’re no longer using where money is outstanding has the potential for inclusion, e.g. school fees, disconnected phone bill, gas, electric or water bills (from a previous address and supplier).
Debts Excluded
Certain debts are excluded from the IVA, with the main ones being secured debts, fines (certain Crown fines are not included while certain Civil fines are) and student loans (depending on age and type of loan).
It’s your responsibility to maintain such payments and to your other important financial commitments.
While in an IVA, you are not allowed to obtain credit in excess of £500 without written permission from your IVA provider (some exceptions apply).
The major benefit of an IVA is creditor forgiveness of some of your debts while you do your best to repay what you can.
It is therefore understandable that borrowing more while in an IVA is not part of the deal and not permitted.
It’s not in anyone’s best interests for your IVA to fail. If your finances take a turn for the worse, it may be possible to reduce payments and still maintain the IVA.
Important: If this is not possible, the IVA is likely to fail. You will then still owe your creditors the full amount of what you owed them at the start, including interest, but less whatever has been paid to them under your IVA. If your IVA fails, you may be made bankrupt.
If your circumstances improve and/or you come into extra money during the IVA, you will be expected to contribute this, in part at least, into the IVA.
Around each anniversary of you entering the IVA, your situation is reviewed to check your payment levels into the IVA remain fair for both you and your creditors.
An IVA proposal is drawn up by a qualified and licensed professional Insolvency Practitioner. This documents your financial situation detailing all your debts, assets and your income and expenditure. This determines how much you can realistically afford towards your debts.
While we only put forward IVA proposals with a high expectation of success, there’s no guarantee your IVA will be accepted.
The proposal is sent to all your creditors for their consideration. If 75% (by value of your total debt) who vote on your proposal (not all creditors will vote), vote in favour of it, your IVA is approved.
Important: You can withdraw your IVA application up to the point it is approved by creditors, after which you are bound to formal insolvency proceedings.
To enter into an IVA you must live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Most homeowners who enter into an IVA will have a clause entered into their proposal that states that in month 54 there is a requirement for them to get an up to date valuation of your property, and mortgage balance to see if there is any equity.
Then if there is any equity you must try and get a remortgage to clear the remaining debt.
If a remortgage is not possible, for example due to lender, affordability or co-owner restrictions, you will not be forced to sell your home. Instead, your IVA may be extended by up to 12 months.
The overall cost of bankruptcy is likely to be lower than entering into an IVA. The costs total £680 and this can be paid by installments.
These must be paid in full before an application will be assessed.
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