Personal Finance, Loans & Insurance

What is the application process for an IVA?

Entering an IVA can be a huge boon to someone who is struggling under a mountain of debt.  It can help stop companies calling demanding money, stop debt collectors knocking and the door etc.  But knowing how to go about applying and getting an IVA can be hard… or at least seem that way.

The good news is that the process of getting an IVA is quick an painless.  Before you take any steps though you need to ensure that you meet the IVA criteria.  These are very basic so simply make sure you are

• Employed
• Owe over £15k (total) to 3 or more companies
• A UK resident
• Able to pay £200 a month or more.

Once you have checked yourself against those criteria it is time to get in touch with an IVA expert.  An IVA company can be found easily online, through your favourite search engine, or in the local Yellow Pages.

Speak to them and they will, usually, set up a meeting or send out a form for you to fill in about your finances.  Once you have filled the forms out (don’t worry, they aren’t complex) you return them to the IVA expert who will assess how much you can afford.

This gets passed to the Insolvency Practitioner (IP) who will put together a file to send to the companies you owe money to.  It will detail all your repayment efforts so far, your credit status and more.  It will also state that the IVA is your last real chance of paying the money back – and you will be required to sign a form to that effect.

Once this happens it gets passed to the companies you owe money to who will either accept it or negotiate..  Once all negotiations have taken place the IVA either gets accepted, declined (rare) or voted on – if you owe debt to a large number of companies a vote happens and if 75% say they accept then it is enforced and the IVA becomes legally binding for all concerned.