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If you are in debt and considering an IVA as an option you should ensure that when you complete the financial statement with the debt advisor you list all essential monthly household expenditures.
The Insolvency Practitioner will ensure that your budget complies with the Common Financial Statement guidelines.
These are the guidelines which are accepted by the credit industry.
In an IVA, a creditor is asked to accept a percentage of their money back over what is normally a 5 year term.
They will allow reasonable household expenditure, but certain items are considered as luxury and therefore not essential. Such things can include smoking, lottery, holidays and entertainment costs.
The CFS guidelines will allow for some additional costs, which could include internet, sky or cable, some allowance for social life costs etc, however this would be at the discretion of the creditors.
The income used should be your guaranteed take home pay. Overtime should only be used if it is guaranteed, but it will be accounted for within the IVA proposals.
The surplus income should therefore be affordable as all other essential household costs would have been accounted for first.
If your income situation changes during the IVA, especially if income goes down, the Supervisor of the arrangement can advise the creditors and a second creditors meeting can be called if the offer originally proposed to your creditors is now unlikely to be met.
The IVA needs to be a sustainable arrangement. If your income and expenditure is too restricted the creditors would probably suggest that your arrangement will fail on the basis that you cannot afford to live on the budget you have given.
If you are struggling to pay the mortgage or rent or are getting behind on utilities you need to revise your financial statement and therefore your surplus income.
Steve completed a financial statement for a collection company who were pursuing him for a credit card debt. He listed all income and household expenses and had a surplus of £301.49 per month. He made the company an offer he thought they would accept but has since realised that he wasnt realistic with his expenditures.
He approached The UK Insolvency Service who went through his finances with him and his revised budget showed he could afford £195 per month for his debts.
They advised him that he hadnt taken into account basic things like medical/dental, clothes and shoes, car maintenance and car insurance. He had paid his car insurance in full earlier this year and didnt take into account that he would need to budget for this for the future.
If you apply for an IVA, your Insolvency Practitioner will ensure that you put forward a realistic budget to your creditors to ensure that you have enough money to live off during the IVA.
If you would like more information please contact us Money Advice Direct on 0800 074 6918 or fill in our form by clicking here. If you are unsure as to whether an Debt Relief Order is the best way to solve your debt problems please call us on 0800 074 6918.
If you wish to discuss the Debt Relief Order procedure and understand how it can help you please complete the following form or telephone freephone 0800 074 6918.