The amount of money currently owed by people in the UK stands at £1.43 trillion. This ‘personal debt’ is at an all-time high, and it’s rising.
With the ‘credit crunch’ and its fallout affecting more and more people’s lives,
you may be feeling the pinch too. According to Credit Action, a national money education charity, 292 people will be declared insolvent ie unable to pay what they owe, every day in May 2008.
You may think you could be one of them.
But don’t worry. Help is at hand.
If you’ve got serious debt problems, you may have thought about declaring yourself bankrupt. But did you know there may be more appropriate alternatives. One of the most popular is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), because it avoids you being labelled as a bankrupt, and you don’t have to lose your home, which is one of the things that can happen in bankruptcy.
So what is an IVA?
An IVA is a legally binding contract between the debtor, ie you, and your creditors, ie those you owe money to.
On the plus side, this means that, instead of making payments each month to various creditors, you make one affordable payment, usually over 60 months, to what’s known as a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, who arranges and manages IVAs. The moment the arrangement is in place, your creditors have to legally stop adding interest or charges to the money you already owe, and they must also stop demanding any money from you. Any debt that is still outstanding at the end of the IVA is written off by the creditors.
On the negative side, and just like bankruptcy, an IVA will affect your credit rating (ie your ability to get loans etc in the future) for up to six years.
So who can get an IVA?
Anyone who is struggling to pay back unsecured debts of £15,000 or more should consider an IVA. An unsecured debt could be for a store card, bank loan, mobile phone bill, bank overdraft, utility bills (such as gas and electricity), or credit card bills. And if you’re self-employed or run a business, Income Tax and VAT can be included in an IVA too.
Another benefit of an IVA is that it doesn’t matter if you own your own home or are a tenant. If you are a homeowner, the good news is that you can protect your home with an IVA, as your mortgage or loan repayment (and any arrears you’re paying) is treated separately from your monthly IVA payment.
Please note, however, that you may have to remortgage your home towards the end of the IVA, releasing some of the money tied up in the house to give to creditors.
On a final note, while over the past few years the stigma of bankruptcy has been reduced due to changes in the law, it is still seen as a harsher choice than an IVA. In addition, those taking the bankruptcy route are prevented from taking up many professions, such as an accountant or a solicitor to name but a few and can not act as a director of a company. It really does make clear sense to consider an IVA over bankruptcy, as it lets you avoid the restrictions that bankrupts face.
Whilst we make every effort to ensure this article is as up to date as possible, Accuma cannot be held responsible for changes in legislation or developments in case law since this article was produced and published. Article produced on 24th June 2008.
