Debt Advice, Debt Consolidation, IVA Applications, Debt Solutions, Ways out of Debt, Individual Voluntary Arrangement, IVA applications, unsecured loans, remorgage, Credit Card Debts,Yorkshire

How do I know if I am insolvent?
If your current liabilities (debts) are greater than your assets and you are unable to pay your debts as and when they fall due.

What is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement? (“IVA”)
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a legally binding contract made between you and your creditors. You pay an agreed monthly sum, usually for five years, or a lump sum payment. This is divided equally between your creditors, who accept the sum in settlement of the amount you owe them.

What are the advantages of an IVA?
Once your IVA is approved, all of your creditors are legally bound by its terms, as long as you keep paying your agreed monthly sum. Once the agreed term of your IVA is completed you have no further obligations to your creditors. Your employers will not know about your IVA unless you choose to tell them. Unlike Bankruptcy, an IVA is not advertised nor does it exclude you from running a business or result in some professions terminating your employment.

Who finds out about an IVA?
Your creditors, the Court where the IVA documents are filed, and the Registrar of Voluntry Arrangements, so if anyone does a credit search against your name the search will disclose you have entered into an IVA.

How will I know an IVA is right for me?
If you can’t pay your debts, an IVA may be right for you, although not everyone is suitable for an IVA. Generally, IVAs are not suitable for people who owe less than £15,000.

What if some/not all my creditors agree? What proportion of creditors must agree to an IVA?
A minimum of 75% in value of creditors who vote must agree to the IVA proposals at a meeting and once the arrangement is approved, all of the creditors are bound by its terms under the Insolvency Act 1986.

Will I have to pay any costs or fees as well as making payments for the IVA?
All fees and costs of the arrangement will be met from the monthly payments. You only pay the agreed IVA contributions.

How much do I have to pay and how will the payments be made?
The payment will be based on your surplus income after allowing for day to day living expenses of you and your family. These usually require that these payments are maintained for five years. The payments are normally distributed on a yearly basis to your creditors providing you keep to your part of the agreement. You will not have any further obligations to your creditors. A standing order may be set up with your bank, this will be a specifically designated supervisors account which we open in your name, into which all payments and bank interest accrue.

What if I am unable to make my payments?
If you find that you are unable to meet your payments, we will try to renegotiate the terms of the arrangement with your creditors by holding a variation maeeting.

What happens at the end of the agreement?
As long as the terms of the proposals have been fully carried out, your creditors will have no further claim against you and the balance of any unpaid debt is written off.

Why would my creditors accept an IVA?
Your creditors will expect to obtain a greater return than they would in bankruptcy or any other informal alternative.

What is the difference between a secured and an unsecured debt?
Secured creditors have a charge or mortgage over your assets (usually your home) and are not able to vote or rank for dividend in an IVA unless they give up this security, which they are unlikely to do.

Unsecured creditors are all those who do not hold any security.

I have creditors who claim that I owe them and I dispute the amount owed. I dispute this amount even though I do admit that I owe some money to them. Will this be taken into account?
All creditors are required to prove their claim in order to be admitted for dividend purposes. They will be able to claim for the amount that they have evidence of you owing them. If you still dispute the amount the Supervisor has the power to determine the amount that can be claimed.

Will my home be safe?
You will not usually have to sell your property when in an IVA. If you do own your home, or it is jointly owned you need to take reasonable steps to make any equity available to your creditors (usually by re-mortgaging). This requirement is also true for Bankruptcy, although in Bankruptcy the property vests in your trustee automatically and he will have the power to sell your home.

Will I be able to get credit again?
Yes, you will be able to obtain credit after you have entered into an IVA. However, your proposal may provide that you will not obtain credit without the agreement of the Supervisor during the course of the scheme. Your credit rating will be affected by the IVA.

Regulation - who are you regulated by?
We are regulated and monitored by the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA). We are members of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (known as R3). All authorising and professional bodies provide technical, professional and ethical guidelines which have to be followed carefully.