IVA question

A question about : IVA question

My wife and I are currently 2 years into a 6 year IVA. We are adhering to all the requests made of us by our IVA provider and have recently returned a new I&E for our annual review which would indicate a slight increase is likely.

However, our IVA provider have now called my wife asking when she is going to return to work. We have two small children of school age so it is possible for her to return to work but as we have no family who are local enough to help with the children this reduces her possible working hours to around 930-230. There are a few jobs around with these working hours but they are in such high demand its difficult for her to get a job

There is also a challenge around holidays as we have no one to look after the little ones.

By the end of the IVA we would have repaid Ј39000 against debts totalling Ј58000 (i think thats about 60p in the pound)

My questions
Can they force my wife back to work?
Assuming she did return to work, wouldn't childcare during the holidays use up any salary making it pointless for her to return to work
Wouldn't it be better if my wife or my wife and I went bankrupt?

Not sure if this makes sense as I am just ranting. The last two years have been tough but we have managed and can see light at the end of the tunnel so why now does it seem like the creditors want more

Any advice, comments or thoughts widely accepted

Best answers:

• No they cant force your wife back to work, that is unacceptable behaviour.
  If they continue with this I would report them to the Insolvency Practitioner's Association who are the body for complaints about IVA providers.
  Their website is: www.insolvency-practitioners.org.uk.
  They have either a form to fill in online, or there is an email address to send direct complaint to.
  I had to report my IVA provider to them because they wanted more money off me then I could afford, and so the IVA failed on their part.
  You could look at bankruptcy, but they could still make you pay for 3 years, and fees are around Ј750 for bankruptcy.
  Good luck xxx
• Broadly speaking, I agree with SPELLKASTER'S advice.
  But, when you proposed the iva, did you agree that your Wife would return to work in year 3, to increase projected dividend? ( Not that 60p in the Ј is bad, far from it).
  If not, then the above advice is correct.
  If on the other hand, you did agree to your wife returning to work, and she is now not able to do so ( totally understand, as I am in the same position), then your IP may need to propose a variation to your creditors. Check the wording of your iva.
  If you have no assets to protect, going BR might be a good option, but if so, why did you not choose that route initially?
  Also, why is your iva 6 years instead of the more usual 5? If you have property/equity, this may be at risk if you go BR, so seek advice from CAB before you make any rash decisions.
  Good luck, whatever you decide.
• The point of whether or not you agreed that your wife would actively seek employment when the children were of school age is a relevant one, but not a deal breaker.
  If it was part of the deal then your supervisor is duty bound to follow it up, but I very much doubt that any variation would be needed as it would assume that an increase in payments of a set amount at a set time was factored in at the beginning, and therefore needs varying, which is very unlikely as there is no way of knowing if, when and how much, unless everyone had a crystal ball.
  If she is not working then assure the supervisor that she is making every effort, and if she is working (most likely only part time due to childcare?) then make sure you factor in any and all extra expenses and any decrease in benefits. Most likely scenario is that there would be no increase or a very negligible one.
• I guess it will be quite hard for her to find work around those hours. Why doesn't she have a look, then you can simply report back to your IVA provider why there is nothing around that wouldn't cost her more in childcare.
• If you can get some quotes for the cost of childcare at a nursery/out of school club for say 7 till 9 on a morning and 3 till 6 on a night, plus full time charges for school holiday weeks, I think you will be shocked at how expensive it can be. Then factor in any additional expenditure e.g. travel costs for your OH to go to work. Then work out how much she would have to bring home after tax etc to make work viable. Present those figures to your IVA company and they should agree it is not possible for her to work at present.