Your Answer

Am I eligible for an IVA?
You must be a private individual (not a company).
Your debts must exceed £10,000. If your debts are less than this we can still help you so please contact us.
You must have a regular income or a lump sum to offer in settlement.
You can be self employed.
You can be a home owner or a tenant.
You must live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Your Answer

Which debts can be included in an IVA?
Normally any unsecured debts (personal loans, credit cards, store cards, bank overdrafts, mortgage shortfall claims following house repossession etc) can be included within an IVA. This does not include your mortgage and other secured loan repayments. Inland Revenue and VAT can also be included.

Your Answer

What are the Advantages of an IVA?

• No publicity (no public notices or advertisements)
• Avoids the stigma of bankruptcy
• Creditors usually receive a greater dividend than what they would expect in a bankruptcy
• More flexible than a bankruptcy in that you have more control over your assets and payments to creditors. The length of term of the arrangement can also be varied
• Permits an individual to hold certain offices such as director of a limited company

Your Answer

Will I have to pay fees?
Capital Debt provides a free insolvency support service.

Our Insolvency Practitioners agree not to charge you directly for the cost of their work instead they arrange for the creditors to pay the fees involved. Fees are taken out of the monthly payments or lump sum you pay to the IVA.

Your Answer

Which debts CANNOT be covered by an IVA?

• Most educational loans as they fall outside of the Insolvency Act 1986
• Fines or penalties imposed for an offence
• Liabilities arising under a court order action such CSA claims for child support
• Liabilities arising under a confiscation order made under S.1 of the Drug Trafficking Act 1986 or S.71 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
• Gambling Debts
• Money secured on your house for example mortgages or secured loans

Your Answer

How long does it take to get the IVA approved?
This is according to the complexity of your case. Providing you are prompt with your paperwork and the Courts have not shut down for holidays you would expect to have a creditors meeting with 6- 8 weeks of your initial contact.

Your Answer

Will the monthly payment stay the same?
The monthly payments will be agreed between you and your creditors based on your income at the time of making the proposal. Creditors will request that your circumstances to be reviewed annually to see there may be an increase in contribution. If your circumstances deteriorate then the proposal may be varied with the agreement of your creditors to reduce the amount payable.

Your Answer

My creditors are threatening me with court action?
An IVA can overturn a bankruptcy, stop an attachment of earnings and supersede county court judgments. If the legal action is imminent then you may consider proposing an interim order, once issued this will protect you from any further legal action for a period of 6 weeks whilst your proposal is being considered by your creditors. If you IVA is subsequently approved then the legal action ceases forthwith and the creditor is bound by the terms of your proposal, even if the creditor did not vote to accept the IVA.

Your Answer

What happens if a creditor contacts me?
Although the Insolvency Practitioner, IP, will write promptly to your creditors to inform them of your intention to propose an IVA, unfortunately creditors will still contact you by telephone or letter requiring payment. It will not be uncommon for a creditor to be slow in updating their systems and some will even claim not to have heard from your IP. If an agent or solicitor contacts you on behalf of one of your creditors then you must inform your IP immediately with their details as they will need to be added to your proposal and served notice of the meeting.

Your Answer

How will I know my creditors are being paid?
Your proposal will detail how and when payments will be made to creditors. The Supervisor of the IVA is required to produce an annual report and circulate this to all creditors on the efficacy of the arrangement, this will also include what distribution /payment will be made to creditors.

Your Answer

What if I fail to keep up the agreement?
If you just stop making payments into your IVA then the arrangement will fail and you could be made bankrupt.

If you experience difficulty in maintaining your payments then it is imperative that you contact the Supervisor of your arrangement immediately to see what can be done to help you. Sometimes creditors will accept a reduction in payment but the Supervisor will first have to ballot them for their support and explain the circumstances.

If you fail to make your agreed payments and creditors are not supportive then the IVA will cease and you will revert back to where you were prior to the IVA meeting.

Your Answer

Are we regulated?
Our licensed Insolvency Practitioners are regulated to ensure they maintain a high standard. They can be monitored by numerous associations namely, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institution of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA).