What is an IVA?
If you are struggling to pay your debts an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a legal agreement between you and your creditors which can be used to clear your debts even though this means you pay less than you owe.
With our help:
- Clear your debts. Only pay what you can really afford.
- All unsecured debt cleared fully even if you pay less than you owe.
- Prevent / stop legal action – including bankruptcy and protects your Assets (e.g. your house).
- One affordable set payment each month usually for only 60 months *.
- All interest and other charges are guaranteed to be stopped (once approved by min of 75% by £ value of all creditors).
- All contact from your creditors regarding repayment of their debts stops.
For anyone who qualifies, an IVA is a way to clear your debts (excluding any secured loans and Hire purchase loans) at an affordable amount each month with a guarantee that after a fixed time – usually 60 months - any remaining unsecured debt will be written off.
An IVA will include all your unsecured debts even if some of your creditors do not agree with what you are proposing.
Your circumstances will be reviewed each year during the IVA to make sure the amount you are paying is fair and affordable for you. If you are unable to manage payment of your debts an IVA could be THE BEST SOLUTION FOR YOU!
The Insolvency Act 1986 created IVAs as a way to help people and businesses to avoid having to go bankrupt when they could not pay their debts. In recent years many thousands of people have benefited from IVAs.
IVA's are managed by Churchwood Financial (Management) Limited trading as Kingsgate Insolvency, a member of the Churchwood Finance Group.
How the Process works
Once a decision has been made that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is right for you, you will be asked questions about your financial position. Based on the information you have given, a repayment proposal will be agreed with you. Once an IVA proposal has been drawn up you will need to check this and with your consent we will then contact your creditors.
Your creditors will receive a copy of your proposal and a report from the Insolvency Practitioner recommending the proposal to them.
A meeting of your creditors will be arranged for the creditors to vote on the proposal – usually approximately 18 days after the proposal is sent to them. This meeting is normally held at our offices and it is unusual for anyone to attend in person. Votes are received by post or fax.
You do not need to attend the meeting but it is important for you to be available by telephone in order for any points which are raised to be clarified and dealt with.
An experienced member of the team at Kingsgate Insolvency will be appointed to chair the meeting.
The IVA will be approved if 75% in value of the votes received are in favour of the IVA. This means that any creditors who do not vote will still bound by the IVA.
After the IVA has been approved
Once the IVA is approved you will receive a copy of the report confirming this including details of any modifications which you may have agreed to.
An Insolvency Practitioner will be responsible for overseeing the IVA but on a day to day basis an experienced member of the Kingsgate team will be your point of contact. You make ONE payment each month into a special account set up to receive your payments.
If you own your home you may be expected to try and obtain a remortgage before the end of the IVA. You will not be expected to sell your home and if you are able to obtain a remortgage this must be for an amount which is affordable for you. If it is too expensive for you to obtain a remortgage or you are simply unable to find a lender willing to provide a remortgage the IVA may instead be extended for up to 12 months during which time you would continue the monthly payments.
At the end of the IVA the remaining debt will be written off leaving you completely debt free.
