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What is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)?

• It is an agreement between you and those to whom you owe money (your creditors) to pay them part or all of your debts.
• It is sanctioned by the Court and so, once accepted by a majority of your creditors, it is legally binding on all of them.
• It may last for any period up to five years
• It is monitored by an Insolvency Practitioner, known as your Supervisor
• At the end of the Arrangement, providing that you have complied with its terms, your creditors will write off any balance of debt still owing leaving you free to start again.
• It is an alternative to bankruptcy

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Will this affect my ability to obtain credit?

• If you are in financial difficulties, it is likely that obtaining credit is already difficult. A Voluntary Arrangement will show up on a credit search, there is a central register. However, a Voluntary Arrangement is not advertised.
• It is disclosed to your creditors only so will not appear in your local paper.
• It does not, in theory, affect your ability to obtain credit. In practice, obtaining credit will be difficult.
• It need not be disclosed to your employer.
• It does not affect your rights to be employed or self-employed
• You will continue to operate a bank account and control your own affairs.

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How do I apply for an IVA?

• We will prepare the proposals on your behalf, arrange to lodge them in Court, contact your creditors and generally take all steps necessary to put the arrangement in place.
• You will be required to provide us with full and complete details of your affairs and to attend a Meeting of Creditors with us to discuss your proposals.

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Why use an IVA?

• A legally binding way to reduce the amount that you pay back
• A way to stop any further interest charges
• A way to reduce your monthly repayments
• This means more money in your pocket at the end of the month.

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What is the procedure of an IVA?

• You complete and return our standard application form together with copies of all recent bank statements.
• On receipt of your questionnaire one of our consultants will contact you in order to talk through your application.
• If our case meets our standard criteria you will accepted onto the IVA programme and referred to one our panel members.
• The panel member will now act for you and will then contact all your creditors informing them that they are now your legal representative.
• Based on the information provided by you an IVA proposal will be draughted, this is a written agreement which sets out the actual terms of the IVA.
• In order to legally protect you from your creditors a form of legal protection called an "interim order" is granted. This is a process which enables full protection from your creditors.
• Once the Interim Order is granted no legal action may be bought against you. Having an interim order means you are fully protected from creditors issuing or continuing bankruptcy proceedings.
• The panel member then prepares a statement called a "Nominees Report" which portrays a professional opinion as to whether the IVA is a bonafide offer.
• Shortly afterwards a meeting of creditors is held. In theory this meeting consists of all the creditors gathered in a room to discuss the IVA. In practice, however, creditors rarely attend because all voting is done prior to the meeting.
• Once the IVA is approved you are legally contracted to keep up your monthly IVA payments.
• Once accepted your creditors can never bother you again.
• This monthly payment will be easily affordabe because it is based on your disposable income.

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Will a loan help me?

• We generally do not recommend people to take out further borrowing. Many lenders and finance houses put forward the idea of loans that tend to be expensive and unsecured. This is the wrong way to solve your problems.
  If you have high borrowings now, the last thing you need is more credit.
• Re-financing or a second mortgage is financial suicide.
  Putting all of your debt on the security of your home or under a personal guarantee you risk losing everything.
• It is not worth the risk of losing your home for the sake of a debt.
  

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Differences between an IVA and Debt Consolidation Loan:

• Many people think that IVA's & Debt Consolidation Loans are the same, however theyare not.
• In an IVA, you have only one payment to make every month, your combined debt is not a new loan. The supervisor makes individual payments to each creditor at regular intervals. You still, therefore, owe each creditor.
• A debt consolidation loan "pays off" old debt and creates a new large debt.
  Loan companies advertise the slogan "pay off" your debts with a loan. They make it sound like you are debt-free!
• The amount of reduction in interest in an IVA is massively reduced and in many cases stopped altogether.
• A consolidation loan is one interest rate for the entire debt balance.
• Some people do not have the option of a consolidation loan..or if they do, will pay it off for a very long time because of bad credit. A person with good credit can benefit if he/she changes his/her spending behaviour along with it.
• In an IVA you not supposed to seek additional credit.
• A consolidation loan would not have such limits.
• People should think carefully before putting their homes up against a load of clothes, stereo equipment and furniture they charged on a credit card 3 years ago.
  
  The above distinctions are very important and can at times be confusing.
  Remember even if you think you know the difference between the two it is still easy to get confused

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What can we offer?

• Commonly, an offer will be to make monthly contributions from your surplus income - you will make one payment to your Supervisor, by standing order, rather than many unstructured payments to your separate creditors.
• The amount of the monthly contribution will depend on your current income and expenditure. They will be set at a level you can afford.
• You may decide that a friend or relative can lend you money to make a one off offer to your creditors. This will shorten the period of the Arrangement and may well be accepted.
• You must disclose all details of your assets and liabilities to your creditors, all assets and liabilities will be dealt with within your arrangement.