What is an IVA.......?

They are a really bad idea, when you take out an IVA your basically hiring someone to draw you up a very strict budget. The company has control over your finances from then on, its like going bankrupt but without having to go to court to do it. With an IVA your credit rating is completely screwed for the next decade. The IVa company will set you rules on what you can do for the next 5 years. They will tell you that you cannot apply for any type of credit, they will say that any money you make from over time or bonuses must go to them, 50% pay off some of your debt the other 50% of YOUR hard owned money goes to line there pockets. Out of your normal wage, you maek a payment to them each month, 70% goes to pay your debt, 30% goes to them. And should god help you you ever forget a payment they can make you bankrupt in the blink of an eye. That is how much control they have over your life from the day you sign the forms.

You are much better off working out a budget, how much you have coming in and how much you have going out on regular bills and neccesaties. Things liker rent, council tax, food, gas and electric, water etc Work out how much each month you can afford to pay towards your debts. Prioritise your debts, credit cards and loans and anything with high interest are most important, store cards, hirer purchases, overdrafts are least priority. Split what money you have between these debts, working out a rough monthly figure on how much you can pay towards each debt every month. Then one by one, write a letter to each company stating that your having financial difficulties and would like to come to an agreement to set out a payment plan to pay off your debt. Offer the amount you can afford, minus 10%. So if you can afford to pay credit card Â£50 a month, offer them Â£40 and wait for a responce, if they say no offer Â£45 and so on until you've reached the Â£50 don't go above that, if they keep saying no just keep offering, making sure you keep a copy of all responces and all letters of payment you send to them as proof you have tried to repay them incase they take court action. If they still won't agree to your offer, pay them it anyway and write a letter stating that you will be seeking legal advice in this matter and see how fast they jump totake your money. Do this for each debt, never apying anymore then you can afford, even if it's Â£5 a month keep offering and paying what ever you can afford.

That is all a IVA company does, they just make offers to your credit companies whilst profiting from something you cna do for yourself free. The CAB offer a good service where they can help you draw up a budet and write letters to your creditors. Use IVAs as the very last resort, they get rich from other peoples debt problems.