IVAs were introduced as government help for those who are struggling with high levels of debt. If you are accepted for an IVA, it will be a legally binding contract between you and your unsecured creditors and they will not be able to take any further action against you as long as you make the required reduced monthly payment.

IVA Criteria – Do I Qualify?

The following just provides a basic overview of the IVA criteria which is used to determine your eligibility. The best way to find out if you qualify for an IVA is to get in touch with our IVA.TV advisors, call today on 0800 048 3651.

1: Debts over £15,000. For an IVA to be processed, your unsecured debt should exceed £15,000. If you have less debt than required for an IVA but you still want to reduce your creditor payments, then you might be more suitable for a debt management plan.

2: Set Monthly Payments. During the IVA process, you must make sure that you can commit to your IVA payments and that they are affordable to you. Your IP will discuss your financial situation and will make sure that your monthly payments are reasonable.

3: You have an income. An IVA requires the debtor to make set monthly payments to their debt, failure to make these payments means that creditors can start bankruptcy proceedings against you. You must be able to show that you have a stable income through employment, where you can afford the living expenses and can still make a reduced payment to your unsecured creditors through an IVA.

4: You are a resident of England, Wales or Northern Ireland. An IVA is an instrument of public policy and only available to residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. IVAs are not available for Scottish residents but there is a similar process which is known as a Trust Deed. A Trust Deed is similar to an IVA as they are both legally binding agreements where the debtor agrees to make reduced monthly payments for a set period and any remaining debt will be legally written off.

IVA Information: IVA Definition

IVA is an abbreviation for Individual Voluntary Arrangement, and were established by The Insolvency Act of 1986.

An IVA is a formal agreement between you and your unsecured creditors where you propose a repayment plan that is affordable to you and fair on your creditors. Many people see an IVA is an alternative to bankruptcy as it allows a certain about of debt write off yet allows you to keep your home.

IVA’s are available if you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you are looking for IVA information but are a Scottish resident, then a Protected Trust Deed is your equivalent of an IVA.

IVA.TV specialise in advising if an IVA is right for you, so for further IVA information please call us free on 0800 0483 651.

IVA Information: Debts an IVA CAN Help with…

An IVA is typically only suitable for those with unsecured debts over £12,000 that fit additional criteria. Only unsecured debt can be included in an IVA, and examples of this include:

• Unsecured loans i.e. Bank Loans (including Doorstop Lenders)
• Bank Overdrafts
• Credit Cards
• Store Cards
• Hire Purchase (HP) shortfall for car (where you no longer have car)
• Disconnected mobile phone bills
• Catalogue arrears.

As part of collating IVA information, you will discover that an IVA can therefore not include any secured debts i.e. secured loans, mortgages or any essential services that you still require. Your secured debts wil be taken into account when deciding how much you can afford to an IVA.

IVA Information: IVA Alternatives:

If your circumstances mean that an IVA is not suitable for you, you will be glad to know that there are IVA alternatives available, including:

• Debt Management Plan: Sometimes an IVA may not be possible because you do not have a high enough level of unsecured debt. If you wish to make your unsecured debts more affordable through a lower monthly payment then a debt management plan could be an appropriate IVA alternative for you.
• Trust Deed: If the reason why an IVA is not suitable for you is because you are a resident of Scotland then a Trust Deed is your alternative. IVA.tv can help you with professional Trust Deed information.
• Bankruptcy: If an IVA is not suitable for you then bankruptcy could be your only option. Always ensure that you get professional IVA information and bankruptcy advice before you declare bankruptcy as you could be more suitable for an alternate debt solution which poses less disadvantages.

IVA Information: IVA Statistics:

CreditAction released IVA statistics in October 2009 which offers you additional IVA information:

• TODAY: 362 people today will be declared insolvent (including IVA and bankruptcies).
• 2009: KPMG estimate that 411 people a day will be declared insolvent throughout 2009 – with one 1 person entering into an IVA or becoming declared bankrupt every 3 and a half minutes

IVA Information: IVA Misspellings:

Common misspellings of IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) include:

• I.V.A.
• Individual Voluntary Arrangment
• Individual Voluntery Arrangement
• Individual Voluntery Arrangment
• Individual Voluntary Agreement

Confused about this IVA Information? Let IVA.tv help…
We have a specialist IVA team who can help answer any questions or queries you may have about IVA. Contact IVA.tv today on freephone 0800 0483 651.

Wikipedia produce quite a detailed definition of what an SIVA is and kindly have allowed us to reproduce it on our site.

Wikipedia IVA – Simplified Individual Voluntary Arrangement

Simplified Individual Voluntary Arrangement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the United Kingdom, a Simplified IVA (SIVA) was a proposed new form of IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), which would have been a formal alternative of clearing debt without being declared bankrupt.

The new regime was likely to have been two tiers:
* Tier 1 would have had an upper limit of £25-30,000, and
* Tier 2 an upper limit of £75,000.

Also, the approval of an SIVA was likely to have been based on a simple majority instead of the exiting 75%.

The government decided not to proceed with the proposals for SIVA in November 2008.

Simplified IVA Plans Withdrawn

In December 2008 The plans announced to modify the Insolvency Act 1986 by introducing SIVAs (Simplified IVA) have been withdrawn from the regulatory marketplace. The association said that the “successful operation of the IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) Protocol has resulted in many of the desired improvements in the IVA marketplace being implemented without the need for further insolvency legislation”.

In Reproducing or Quoting Press Releases or Articles from IVA.TV please ensure a link is placed back to the original article.

IVA Wikipedia is not the only place where you can get free IVA information. An IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) is an alternative to bankruptcy and can be one of the best ways debt solutions, dependant on your circumstances. An IVA allows you to write off unaffordable debt with a reduced monthly payment for 60 months. One Advice can offer you free IVA Advice so you can find out if an IVA is the right financial solution for you.

IVA.TV are looking for leads.

The type of leads we are after include:

Loan Leads (Secured or Unsecured Loans)

Remortgage Leads

Debt Management Leads

Debt Consolidation Loan Leads

Bankruptcy Leads

House or Home Repossessions

IVA Leads

Debt Advice Leads

If you are a loan company we would be interested in your declines. Bad credit or CCJ’s are not a problem as we primarily offer advice on consolidating debts that does not require borrowing more money. Don’t just say you can’t help refer to someone that can.

We can also help loan companies by stopping house repossessions and thereby giving you more time to get a remortgage in place to save your clients home.
If you are a debt management company but do not perform IVA’s (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) in-house we would be interested in receiving clients from you who meet our IVA criteria.

Other types of affiliates include debt advice websites. Even if you are referring elsewhere at the moment call us to see how we can help you maximise your returns. Because we offer a number of solutions in-house the chances are we can find your referral a debt solution.

We have a huge range of affiliate programmes available.

For further information please call Sue today on 07786 923340 or email sue.woodrow@harringtonbrooks.co.uk

ClearDebt recently won a case against the IVA Council who targeted people on an IVA saying they should have gone Bankrupt instead (but without knowing a persons circumstances how could they possibly know this to be the case!). They then charged clients a very hefty fee to make an IVA application.

The Governments full responses can be found here: Number 10 IVA petition response

The responses said:

We received a petition asking:

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to abolish, regulate or limit private company access to the Insolvency Website.”

Details of Petition:

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to: ‘abolish,regulate or limit private company access to the Insolvency Register.’ The Insolvency Register displays the name, d.o.b and address of everyone in an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or undergoing bankruptcy. Unscrupulous and unregulated companies are taking the personal information of those on the Register and using this to target these vulnerable members of society. Letters include offers of further loans and misleading advice. We would like to regulate or limit access to the Register so that it can only be used for bona fide reasons and not for the marketing of unsolicited offers from unregulated companies.”

Read the Government’s response
The Individual Insolvency Register is a statutory register. It is provided as a safeguard to the public to allow people to make better informed decisions about their dealings with individuals who are bankrupt or subject to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement [IVA]. The register is maintained for the Secretary of State by The Insolvency Service and to assist the public the register is accessible and searchable, free of charge, over the internet.

The Secretary of State is required, by the provisions of the Insolvency Act and Insolvency Rules to maintain the register. It is open for public inspection and therefore would not be entitled to limit commercial access to the register.

A subscription service is available to commercial users, offering the same particulars that are on the public register on a daily download format. The terms and conditions of use are under regular review.

Whilst the publication of a debtor’s particulars is a legal consequence of individual insolvency, the improper use of the personal details of an individual cannot be condoned. Protection is available for the public from unsolicited offers, misleading advice and unscrupulous marketing practices by companies who are taking personal information from the Individual Insolvency Register. Debt Advice Providers are licensed by the Office of Fair Trading [OFT] and must satisfy the OFT when applying for a credit licence that they are a fit person to engage in the activities identified on the licence application before a licence is issued. Once a licence is granted, the licensee must maintain the required standard of fitness. Should this not be maintained, the OFT will decide on the appropriate enforcement mechanism in the light of the facts and circumstances of the individual case, especially the risk of detriment to consumers. Where concerns about conduct are serious, or there are concerns about a person’s integrity, the OFT may conclude that they are not fit to hold a licence and will act to refuse or revoke a licence. Complaints about a Debt Advice Provider may be made directly to the OFT by consumers, other Debt Advice Providers or 3rd party organisations such as Citizen Advice. Complaint forms and complaint evidence checklists are available on the OFT’s website. http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/debt-management

Consumers may also wish to complain directly to their local Trading Standards or through Consumer Direct (consumerdirct.gov.uk)

If you seek IVA Advice one thing is for sure – depending on who you get the advice from the advice will differ!

Some IVA Companies may push you down the IVA route, part of this is because this is how they earn their money but also because they strongly believe it is your best solution. Insolvency Practitioners have a requirement to ensure they consider alternatives for you and that these are fully explained.

Some debt management companies don’t have IVA arms and therefore favour debt management plans.

Loan companies or banks will sell you the benefits of a debt consolidation loan.

However, at IVA.tv we offer a range of debt solutions – including IVA’s, debt management plans, bankruptcy service, mortgage help, unsecured loans and debt consolidation loans.

This means that we are in the best position to look for the best debt solution for you.

To contact IVA TV please call 0800 0483 651.

At present only qualified Insolvency Practitioners can administer an IVA. To qualify as an Insolvency Practitioner you have to sit exams on Corporate Insolvency and gain considerable experience working in these areas. Only a small part of the training is relevant to IVA’s.

This therefore means it takes considerable time and effort to become a fully qualified Insolvency Practitioner when in practice a qualified accountant would find it relatively easy to gain experience and understanding of IVA’s.

At IVA TV we thought the proposed simpler qualification made perfect senses and think it’s a huge shame it’s been dropped. The more accountants able to offer IVA’s would have increased competition and reduced costs and would therefore have greatly benefited the consumer.

RBS/NAtwest only have just over 5% of the mortgage market and this move seems to have come from the fact it is now Government owned.

This move should help people who have recently lost a job but could in fact make matters worse for some. It is also good news for people looking to sell their homes to release any equity they have as it gives them longer to obtain maximum price in a sale (rather than a forced sale at auction if their home was repossessed).

If you cannot afford your mortgage payments however it is unlikely that in 6 months time things will look any better? House prices are still expected to fall further and therefore any equity you do have is more than likely to be fully eroded over this time.

If your home is repossessed and you owe more on it than its worth then you can be chased for the balance owing once it is sold.

If you are worried about your home being repossessed please visit our sister site:

UK Repossession Helpline

Relax Group specialise in consumer debt management plans, IVA’s and Protected Trust Deeds (Scotland). They said demand for debt help driven by the credit crunch has lead to current business levels being 12% above plan.

Despite announcing pre-tax profits of just £14k (prior year £3.42m) their share price jumped up 30%. They stated their current year profit included exceptional costs of £2.77m relating to restructure. They said they expected business levels to exceed market expectations.

IVA.TV Note:

An IVA is a formal agreement between a consumer and their credit companies. You make an offer to repay as much as you can afford over the next 5 years (rather than opting for Bankruptcy) and if approved by over 75% of your creditors (by balance value) then on completion of the IVA the remainder of your debt is written-off. An IVA is administered by an Insolvency Practitioner. If you own your own home you will be expected to contribute any equity. An IVA will affect your credit rating for 6 years.

An IVA can lead to a substantial part of your debt being written-off.

To see if you qualify for an IVA please call 0800 0483 651.

It was agreed that the credit card companies would report back within 2 weeks with proposals on how they will deal with borrowers struggling with debt.

The statement said:

“The industry agreed that where a not for profit debt advice agency has formally notified that a consumer is in serious discussion with that agency on a draft debt repayment plan then the credit card company will suspend collections activity whilst these discussions continue provided that they are concluded within 30 days, with the option of extending a further 30 days subject to demonstrable progress being made but not yet concluded.

The group made good progress in discussing the issue of risk-based repricing which is leading to high increases in some individuals’ bills. They will develop a statement of fair principles in two weeks for risk based re-pricing decisions. Those principles would address issues such as proportionality, frequency and transparency. The purpose is to help borrowers manage their debts during the downturn.”

The full statement from Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) can be seen here:
Berr Statement