looking for people who've done bankruptcy/ IVA/ DRO or something similar for advice article

[ethicalmoney]

Re: looking for people who've done bankruptcy/ IVA/ DRO or something similar for advice article

Don't worry at all. It's just the complicated cyberspace world we live in. I def appreciate you trying to help I've seen very mixed stories on IVAs across forums, but lots of concerns yes...

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: looking for people who've done bankruptcy/ IVA/ DRO or something similar for advice article

Was trying to avoid posting up twitter details as have made a personal post on here and didn't want to necessarily link my public and private world, but it happens...

not here it doesn't. The moment you started a personal thread then anything you post will be de-personalised to protect your identity (by a mod/site team).

So don't worry. You'll be fine here. If YOU post anything personal publicly we will also remove/edit it (to protect you).

[SaltnVinegar]

Re: looking for people who've done bankruptcy/ IVA/ DRO or something similar for advice article

haha! thanks Plan B. I haven't been able to drag myself away from the desk for mini eggs ! I have now interviewed someone re bankruptcy, but urgently looking for someone who's got experience of IVA and DRO. Been looking non-stop for a week and proving impossible...

Perhaps that could be a shift in the focus of your article? IVA's have been touted by some debt management companies as the 'panacea' to debt, and those who get phone calls 'about a government scheme that can write-off your debt' are actually referring to IVA's. However these arrangements are really only suitable for a small percentage of debtors situations (try 5%-10% because they are really only suitable for people with assets that can be realized, e.g. expensive car, equity in house etc, plus the arrangement fees tend to be expensive) which is probably why you cannot find anybody who has embarked on the process. The other reason you may be struggling is that most IVA's also tend to be private affairs (e.g. there is no notice in the local paper), therefore for many people on IVA's to all outward purposes they are living 'live as usual' and they may therefore not want other people to know.

IVA's are actually a very serious undertaking with a significant commitment to the arrangement and they don't seem to be liked very much by creditors either. The consequences of entering into an IVA can also be as damaging as going bankrupt from the consideration of the reports made to the credit reference agencies, and because of the timeframes involved (5 years) then there is always the possibility of not being able to keep to the arrangement, in which case your creditors will most likely try to make you bankrupt anyway.

I'm sure you can tell I'm not a fan of them

I don't think they offer any more benefit than a well managed DMP, with the exception that creditors are legally bound by them and (theoretically) harassment from creditors should stop.

In many cases however they tend to do nothing but extend the period of indebtedness unless the person concerned can almost guarantee there will be no change in personal circumstances over the period of the IVA so they know when its finished they can walk away.