An IVA is a formal debt solution that can put you back in control of your finances. If you qualify, you will make one affordable monthly payment to cover all your unsecured debts for a fixed period of 5 years. At the end of this, any debt that has not been repaid will be legally written off.
During the IVA you have legal protection from your creditors - this means no further interest and charges can be added to the debts. Unlike Bankruptcy, you remain in control of your assets with an IVA (homeowners may be required to try and re-mortgage as part of an IVA if you own a property with equity in it – however, you will never be required to sell your property in an IVA).
There are also rules and guidelines to deal with any changes in your circumstances whilst an IVA is in place.
For example, you can retain the first 10% of any additional income you earn if you have an unexpected loss of income or one-off expense. You can also take payment breaks if you suffer a loss in income or unexpected expense.
We will review your finances annually to ensure the payments remain affordable. It is important you keep up with your payments or notify your IVA provider if you cannot afford the payment. If your IVA fails, you could be made bankrupt.
How long does it take to put an IVA in place?
An IVA takes 2-3 weeks to set up. There are no charges or fees for an IVA. Once your IVA is in place, we negotiate with your creditors on what they will allow us to keep as a percentage of your monthly payment to cover our costs. These will be fully disclosed to you as part of your application.
Why an IVA?
An IVA could help you get back in control of your finances. Whether you are making payments to your debts but not seeing the balances come down, or you are struggling to meet the monthly payments to your debts, or you’re facing debt collection/bailiff action and cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel an IVA could be suitable for you.
An IVA offers the following benefits: -
· One affordable monthly repayment
· An end in sight for getting out of debt
· Protection from legal action and bailiffs
· A freeze on interest and charges