IVA and Stopping Direct Debits

A question about : IVA and Stopping Direct Debits

Good morning all.... I have asked questions before with some great advice but please could someone answer the following before i apply for an IVA. I haven't fallen or defaulted on any payments so if i applied for the IVA would i continue to make payments until a decision is made or would it be that i would be advised to stop payments to ensure correct amounts of debts are shown.
Thanks in advance for any response.

Best answers:

• Hi.
  I would stop making all the payments now and start putting that money aside for a contingency. You could, if you wished, send a token payment to all of your creditors but it would have to be the same amount to all ( I didn't bother doing this myself). Also, if you bank with any of your creditors then get yourself a new account opened elsewhere (if you haven't already done so that is!)
  Good luck
  EDIT - Actually, I misread your post. The above is what you should do if you are already in the process of an IVA, but if you have not yet spoken to a company to see if it is a viable option then I am not sure that you should stop payments! I am quite new to this myself and I am quite sure somebody will be along to put you on the straight and narrow!
• Hi JUDOJOB, thanks for getting back to me, like many others i guess falling into the situation where you have to apply for an IVA feels like failure but at the end of the day each person has their own reasons for it happening. Waiting for a period of time knowing you are taking from peter to pay paul solves nothing and just increases the debt. We currently pay around Ј1700 in loans inc credit cards per month with a total debt of Ј70k joint income of Ј3500 and expenses and mortgage waiting to win the lottery is now not an option. Thanks for the info....
• I stopped all of my payments the day I decided to do the IVA - some 12 weeks before the actual creditors meeting. In fact when you fill out the final forms it says that the debts are within a 15% tolerance.
• Hello the bright side thanks for this, so i guess from what i have read it's between 4 and 12 weeks ish to get application to agreement?
• I think 8 weeks is about average - mine was 12 loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnn nnnnnnnnnng g g g weeks but its done now.
• From application to creditors meeting (4th April incase i hadn't mentioned it already!! lol) has been just under 6wks.!
• Thanks all, i have also been on the website beatmydebt.com, very usefull. Not sure about putting my figures and and contact details to see a debt report and advice.
• My next big step will be to stop making payments. I've got estate agents round this week for a house valuation, and to be honest I feel like I'm about to step off a very big cliff . Like you, I've never missed a payment, but in doing so I now have no more credit to fall back on either, so either way something's got to give. I've given over all my creditors details to my IP, and hopefully they will decide there is a viable proposal to be made. I keep reading that an IVA won't be proposed if they IP didn't feel confident it would go through...doesn't stop me wondering if I'll be the exception!
• Hello TeetersOnHeels, I felt the same and my IVA which was not a normal IVA in any respect (not property, low dividend, just starting self employment, very large debst Ј140K >) got accepted. If your IP does a decent job explaining the pros and cons of an IVA v's BR to your creditors then then why woundnt they accept it.
  Some of my biggest creditors didnt even bother to vote :-)
  Its only been a week since my creditors meeting and I feel like I am at last starting to live again (cliche I know - but true) and I can now look to the future. What a relief that the 'should I, shouldnt I' - 'do I, dont I' thought's have now gone. Try to make adecision, stick to the path, the force is strong :-)
• Thanks all, you are a couple of steps ahead of me but your advice and opinions count. Going to open a current account this week and get all my dd and so for utilites, mortgage set up and payments come out at the end of the month being April....
  I should imagine i would get an answer as to my status from an IP before i need to miss any payments, do you know if they require copies of payslips or is just bank statements? will they require receipts of copies of bills in the future as i plan to only keep money in the bank account for DD's and SO's only the rest will be drawn as cash and used to pay for shopping, travel, and all other expenses or will this be seen as trying to pull the wool over their eyes..... decided that cash is king and from now on if its not in the pot we go without...
• Hi!
  I had to provide last 3mths payslips, last 3mths bank statements for all our accounts, proof of loan agreements, proof of Life Insurance and Home Insurance, proof of ChildCare costs, Council Tax!
  Definitely good to get that bank account set up. I think if you have to make any big purchases in the future then i would certainly save receipts just incase as if any of your expenditure goes up. Save receipts etc incase they want to see evidence of this (receipts for petrol for example).
  As for the cash part. We do exactly the same. With draw our budget each week for shopping, petrol, nursery fees etc and when it's gone, it's gone!
• Thanks Judojob...
  I try to sell items on ebay as well which would go through Paypal... not big amounts would this be considered and income and if so could it actually be tracked??? sorry you may not know the answer but i'm sure you have asked many questions in the past.. I'm thinking of Pay Plan, i know there are a few. I have copies of all the paperwork and i have as said before been on the website for an expense guide which looks very workable..... i have a feeling that the IVA wil become very popular over the next 8 months due to cost of living and BOE interest rat going up to possibly 6% within the next 2 years
• I think the ebay thing would be fine so long as it's just bits and bobs and not some kind of business! Sure somebody else will comment on that further for you though. Yup, unfortunately more and more people are finding themselves in the thick of such financial trouble that IVAs and Bankruptcy are routes that more and more of us will be taking
• I can't see why the creditors would refuse, it's better than nothing and they also have the 5 years of waiting for the house prices to go up for remortgaging. I currently don't have a pension that i'm paying into although this is an allowable expense (didn't do it becuase lack of funds) although i might see if i can get this done before applying as a 60 months of Pension contributions is better than 60 months of reducing debt)
• You would think so wouldn't you! Myself and OH have pensions. I only hope the creditors don't ask us to freeze them so as to put extra into the IVA.! They're the only 'savings' we have so to speak. But then again we are both still young(ish) to make this back up I suppose!
• Hi Judojub, if you don't mind me asking please don't answer if you don't wish to .. what was your total debt at the time of applying for an IVA, mine is around Ј72k and currently paying around Ј2k per month (inc INT)..... i see lots of emails about the pence in the pound from 17p to 30p... i look at mine and expect to pay around 60p in the pound do i have this all wrong or am i missing something?
• No two cases are the same and I think it all depends on your level of debt, how much you earn, your income and expenditure. I owe just over 40k and will be offering a dividend of just 17p/Ј1 come my meeting on Monday. It is very low and I am worried but after much discussion with our IP this is a realistic offer for us right now. Your offer of 60p is a very healthy return for your creditors. Just make absolutely sure that you have included all that you can on your I&E and that you are absolutely sure you will be able to live within those budgets. Discuss things further with your IP if you have any queries and make sure you are 100% happy.
• Thanks Judojub.... good luck for Monday... you appear to have your head screwed on... let me know how you get on..