Q & A
Do I have to pay any costs?
All the costs associated with your IVA are included in the payments you make in to it. Our fee is agreed by the creditors and taken from the payments to them as part of your IVA. Your IVA proposal will contain full details of our fees. Providing that an IVA is approved and you keep to the terms for 5 years, any debt you can't afford to repay will be written off by your creditors and you will not have any fees to pay to us. In summary, you pay only the affordable monthly amount you and your creditors agree to under the terms of the IVA.
What happens if I fail to comply with the IVA terms?
Because an IVA is a legally binding agreement you are expected to comply with your obligations which are set out in the IVA proposal. If you are prevented by circumstances outside your control from complying with the IVA we will work with you and your creditors to reach an acceptable conclusion to the IVA. If you simply fail to comply with the IVA and do not let us know the reasons why, the IVA will be ended and your creditors will be free to take action against you for the debts which are still owed to them. In exceptional cases failure to comply with an IVA may result in bankruptcy.
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What happens if I struggle to make the payments?
You should be confident when starting the IVA that you will be able to continue the monthly payments. However, creditors understand that sometimes events happen such as redundancy or sickness which prevent you from making the payments. The IVA will allow you to suspend payments if this happens for a limited period (up to 6 months) and your Insolvency Practitioner can also ask creditors to vary the IVA in certain circumstances. We will work with you to try and ensure that your IVA is successful even if your circumstances change unexpectedly.
What if my creditors don't agree?
At least 75% of votes (in value) at your creditors’ meeting must be in favour of your IVA proposal. Creditors can suggest modifications to your proposal and you can choose whether to accept them or not. In the unlikely event that your creditors don't vote in favour you will still have the option of an informal arrangement with your creditors, or of bankruptcy. We will be happy to discuss these with you.
Will I ever be able to get credit again?
During your IVA you will normally agree not to obtain further credit. Once your IVA has been successfully completed your Insolvency Practitioner will give you a certificate of completion. You will be able to send copies of the certificate to the credit agencies and request them to update your file. Any defaults and CCJ’s remain on your credit file for 6 years, therefore you will have 1 year left to go.
During this final year you will be able to apply for credit should you wish to although it is possible that you may find obtaining credit difficult. As it will be approximately 5 years from now before you may apply for credit again it is not possible to predict today how difficult or how easy it may be for you to obtain credit.
Will I qualify for an IVA?
An IVA is not suitable for everyone who is struggling to pay their debts. A number of matters have to be considered including the amount you can afford to repay, how many creditors you owe money to and how long it would take you to pay your debts by other means.
Will my home be safe?
You will not be expected to sell your home. If you do own your home, you need to take reasonable steps at the end of the IVA to make any equity available to your creditors (usually by re-mortgaging). You will only be expected to remortgage for an amount which is affordable for you and if you can’t obtain a remortgage, creditors may request you to pay up to 12 additional monthly payments instead.
