iva

[Deeds]

Hi!

We got into to serious debt 6 years ago and enlisted the help of a Debt Management Company which we pay a monthly fee too, and they distribute our monthly payment to our creidtors. This IVA has been in place for over five years (six years this coming July) and having recently heard about government legislation that allows companies to write off bad debt with no penalties, is it possible that we could now apply to get these debts written off? If so, how would we go about it? I can't see the Debt Management company wanting to help as they would be doing themselves out of our monthly contribution to their bank account.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks, Deeds

[themas]

Are you sure you have an IVA? These are formal arrangements which have to be set up by an Insolvency Practitioner. They normally last 5 years, with any outstanding proportion of the debts being written off at the end. To come into effect, 75% by value of your creditors have to vote in favour. If you have one you will have a document setting out the proposal and your obligations, and any queries should go to the Insolvency Practitioner involved.

It seems much more likely you have an informal debt management plan (DMP) with a fee charging company. These can go on for as long as it takes to pay the debts off in full. If you are in a DMP your options are:

1. Go on with a DMP, but you do not need to stay with a fee charging co. You can contact Payplan or CCCS, or go to your local CAB - all do this kind of thing free.

2. Consider bankruptcy. Look at the Insolvency Service website for info. There are a lot of pros and cons (in particular if you own your home you could possibly lose it) and you need detailed advice.

3. Consider an IVA. Again, you need detailed advice.

You could post on www.debtquestions.co.uk/forum/index.php3 or go to your CAB and ask to see a debt adviser.

[veritymoon]

i agree with themas double check your paperwork it does not sound like an iva as its been longer than 5 years or check out debt free direct website.

[Deeds]

Thank you so much thermas and veritymoon! It is not an IVA it is a DMP. Sound advice and I am going to look into the options you have suggested. We are renting at the moment, but naturally would like to own our own property again at some point. I will visit the websites you have linked and see what the best options for us are.

Again thank you for your help and advice.

What a wonderful site!

Deeds

[myvesta-sean]

Hi Deeds,

This does not sound like an IVA in fact it is more likely to be a debt management plan that you ae presently in. There are online video clips that explain the diffence between the two arrangemens on the Not For Profit Myvesta site:

http://myvesta.org.uk/media/video/iva/

Kind regards

Sean