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IVA

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a formal agreement between you and your creditors where you will come to an arrangement with them, to make reduced payments towards the total amount of your debt.

The IVA will usually last between 60 and 72 months, and at the end of your IVA you will have a certain amount of debt written off and be debt free.

Benefits

  • A single affordable monthly payment.
  • A fixed repayment period (usually no more than 60 months).
  • An agreement that your creditors will freeze interest and stop any charges so your debt balance does not increase.
  • Protection from further action by your creditors.
  • On completion of your IVA your creditors legally write off any debt outstanding.
  • If you own a home, you are unlikely to lose it as long as you comply with the terms of your proposal.
  • No advertising in papers.

Disadvantages

  • Should the IVA fail, the debtor can still be made bankrupt.
  • You may be required to introduce an element of your equity into the IVA, usually towards the end of the IVA.
  • 75% of the creditors based on the value of debt have to agree to the IVA
  • There are restrictions to certain types of expenditure.
  • The Supervisor must be advised of any changes in personal circumstances arising during the IVA.
  • Depending on the level of overtime or bonuses an individual receives, they may be expected to contribute an amount of this towards the IVA.

Call us free on 0800 008 7969 to speak with one of our expert advisors about your debts and the options that may be available to you.

Alternatively, complete our online enquiry form and one of our advisors will call you back.

An IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a form of debt consolidation that was introduced over twenty years ago, but is a solution that has become very popular in the last ten years. There is a fundamental difference between an IVA and Debt Management Plan, in the sense that an IVA is a legally binding document. This is nothing to be scared of, it means that you will benefit from greater protection. An IVA can give you protection from your creditors, a set time scale and a guarantee that all interest and charges will be frozen. It is a form of debt consolidation that, if agreed on by your creditors, will give you peace of mind. The IVA debt solution was introduced as an alternative to bankruptcy as previously many people were going down the bankruptcy route and as such losing their homes. If you are a homeowner, as long as you comply with the terms of the IVA, you will not lose your home.

An IVA is seen by many people as a sensible route to sort their debts out. Most IVAs require you to have a debt level of over £15000, so once individual debt levels reach this amount most people think that that's enough, as do most banks. Although many firms in the early 2000s mis-sold these types of solutions, the industry has now clamped down on such methods and as such creditors will only accept an IVA when it is the right debt solution for you. Everyone's circumstances and reasons for getting into difficulty vary and that's why potential IVAs with Debt Support Service are looked at on merit, on a case by case basis. It could be that a Debt Management Plan is more suitable, or a Re-mortgage, all of these are options we can look at with you so that we can make sure that the right debt solution is offered to you.

Essentially what the IVA solution would do is to allow you to obtain one payment to cover all your debts based on what you can realistically afford, which will run for a period of 60 months (possibly 72). When you have finished the payments the remainder of your debts will be written off. It is not a solution that looks for "loopholes" or "unenforceable agreements", which is another debt solution product that has been heavily mis-sold and clamped down on recently. Additionally the IVA debt solution will not put you into any more debt like something like a consolidation loan would, or re-mortgage would.

For many people the IVA offers light at the end of the tunnel. An IVA is not something that should be considered lightly. As with any financial product there are risks and benefits as well as downsides and advantages. All of which will be covered with you by your own personal debt advisor at Debt Support Service. The IVA is normally open to people who have more than £15000 of unsecured debt, little or no assets, and can afford about £200 a month towards it. This is a general overview of the criteria of an IVA and is no way meant to represent what may be open to you.

The IVA will consolidate all your debts and make things easier if you are finding things difficult or have had a genuine change in your circumstances. At Debt Support Service we believe each client should be treated with respect and understanding during what for most people is a difficult time in their lives. Some people can be very quick to dismiss IVAs as a debt consolidation solution, but this will be because of what they have heard normally from a friend or a mate at the pub, who are not qualified in finance. Everyone's circumstances are different. An IVA can only be administered if the creditors agree to it, and it being the right debt solution for the individual.

An IVA can stop all the worry and hassle that may be currently happening in your life. It will also stop any further action that may currently be being threatened by your creditors. The IVA is seen by many creditors as an acceptable middle ground between Bankruptcy and a Lengthy Debt Management Plan. IVAs have helped tens of thousands of people over the years. Call one of Debt Support Services advisors now to see if it's right for you.