• One affordable payment per month
• Creditors are bound by law. The IVA will overturn any CCJs
• From the date of approval, all interest and charges are frozen
• This is a private agreement between you and your creditors
• Your employer will NOT be made aware
• You can still re-mortgage your home when in the agreement
• You and your partner can enter a joint IVA if some debts are in joint names
• We offer a home visit after giving advice over the phone
• No Fees to pay. Insolvency Fees are payable from creditor contributions
• We have the experience and systems in place to make the process as painless as possible for you
• We are not a call centre. You will have one point of contact "pre" and "post" the IVA
• Enables a Sole Trader or Partner to continue to trade and generate income towards repayment to creditors which would otherwise have a call upon the personal assets of the individual.

• An IVA will affect your credit rating
• Your IVA will be held on the individual insolvency register, which is available to view by the public
• You are not allowed to obtain further credit during the IVA term
• You usually need to have a disposable income of more than £120
• The IVA will require 75% of your creditors to agree to the IVA
• Fees for the IVA are high (typically £4,000 or more) and the insolvency practitioner may require payment of fees up-front.
• If your circumstances change, the IVA may end if the insolvency practitioner cannot get creditors to accept new terms. If this happens you will owe the full amount to your creditors again.
• Your IVA may have a built-in requirement to revalue your home and release equity to pay the creditors after a set number of years of payments (usually five). If this is not possible you are likely to be required to extend the IVA by another 12 months
• You can still be made bankrupt if the IVA fails.

IVA Facts & FAQs

Q. Will I still qualify for an IVA if I am unable to pay off my debts?

A. In these kinds of situations, it's best for you to contact Escape Debt first for advice on IVA requirements, so that we can assess your specific situation, and advise you accordingly. You may still qualify, however, we do need to talk to you first. Beware anyone irresponsible enough to simply say 'Yes!', without first assessing your situation. At Escape Debt, every day we provide debt help, IVA assistance and other fiancial advice to people across the UK, we do it well and we do it ethically.

Q. Do I need to have debts of £12,000 or more to qualify for an IVA

A. We tend to recommend an IVA for those individuals who have large amounts of serious debt such as that. However, in some circumstances it can be appropriate to look into an IVA for more unusual situations, if we find that it is the right debt solution for you.

Q. There is a lot of stigma attached to bankruptcy. Is this true of an IVA?

A. An IVA involves less publicity and is often looked upon more favourably by future potential creditors. For more information on IVA costs, please see our page on the costs of an IVA.

Q. If I undertake an IVA, who would be my provider?

A. Once we have analysed your situation closely, if we think that an IVA is the right debt solution for you,then we will connect you to an approved and reputable provider whom we feel is your best option.

Q. Will an IVA satisfy my creditors and keep them from harassing me?

A. In most cases your creditors will be glad to have a settled solution like an IVA in place. This confirms for your creditors that they will be receiving most if not all of the money which you owe to them. A bankruptcy is bad news for your creditors too.

Q. How can I contact Escape Debt to discuss whether or not an IVA is right for me?

You can find comprehensive contact details here. Think of us as your IVA helpline: if you have questions or concerns about potentially undertaking an IVA or about an existing IVA you may already have, then don't hesitate to call our professional team today.

Q. Are Escape Debt my best option for discussing an IVA?

A. Escape Debt are an ethical and independent company whose reputation has been made by responsibly assisting people with debt problems. We will only recommend the options which will assist you and will not try to push you into any agreement with which you are not happy and fully understanding.

Q. Do I need to contact my creditors to tell them that I am considering an IVA?

A. You can, however we think it's best if you leave all the negotiations to your IVA provider, through us. You may wish to leave it to us and to your assigned IVA provider to contact your creditors and have your IVA explained - we have a great deal of experience in undertaking this, and can avoid any potential mistakes or misunderstandings. In other words, you may want to leave all the contact to the experts, and relax instead!

Q. What if I still have questions about IVA's and whether or not they are best for me?

A. It's natural that you may have questions, and we would be happy to answer them for you as best that we can. For example, you may have heard of but still not really understanding what is an IVA, or how it could help you. You can find our contact details here. Our IVA expert team is standing by with all the facts about IVA agreements and how to best clear your debt problems. We can't provide completely free IVA help, but we can give you a free consultation to see if an IVA is right from you.

Q. What happens once my IVA has completed?

A. The debts which are wrapped up within the IVA will be cleared, and you are left without any entitlements or strings attached from the IVA, to carry on with your life. If you have any other debts which were not packaged within the IVA, you may still have these outstanding. Should this be the case - if for example you are forced to take on extra debt while the IVA is already in operation, your best solution is to contact Escape Debt so that we can handle any non-IVA debts which you may have.

Q. I have heard that an IVA is only for serious debts. Would I qualify?

A. We will need to analyse your individual situation in order to answer this honestly. As a guide, an IVA is usually recommended for those with debts in excess of £12,000. However, contact Escape Debt and we can assess your circumstances and tell you the facts about IVA agreements and how they apply to you.

Q. Is an IVA my best solution to get out of debt?

A. An IVA is an excellent method for clearing debts, and we have helped many people to clear their debt problems using an IVA. After assessing your situation, it may well be that an IVA is the right plan for you. If an IVA is not the idea solution for you, Escape Debt will find a different plan which best suits your circumstances.

What will happen if my IVA fails?

A. An IVA failure most likely occurs because of a failure on the part of the individual to meet the terms and conditions with which the IVA settlement are made. If you fail to meet your responsibilities to the IVA, your creditors will be able to pursue for the full and outstanding balance. It could also result in a bankruptcy notice being fired against you.

Is an IVA my best debt solution?

There are many factors which need to be taken into consideration when considering any kind of financial solution including debt management, IVA or other. At Escape Debt our qualified team can take you through the process and examine whether or not an IVA solution is the best option for you, or whether another option such as debt management would be more appropriate for you. Consideration of IVA vs debt management is part of what we do for every client, to see what their best available option is, so do not be concerned if tell you that we are going to explore every possible option for you. There are also certain qualifiying factors which need to be taken into consideration based on your specific situation. The amount of debt that you have, whether or not you have been previously bankrupt or previously been in an IVA, and in some small cases, what job you have, may be a factor.

The best way to find out whether or not an IVA debt solution is for you is to contact us, so that we can assess your case and give you a personal analysis of your situation. You may first want to look at our IVA Frequently Asked Questions page, where we answer a lot of typical questions from people considering an IVA. You can also find more information on how to get an IVA agreement there. If you are looking to become debt free, then you should know that there is no magic solution, however if you are serious about becoming debt free, IVA-packaged debts will be written off at the end of the IVA period, should any be outstanding. Should all of your debts between the start and the end of the IVA be within that package, you may therefore be able to become debt free.

One of the most important considerations when undertaking an IVA is whether or not you are able to make the payments each month in order to continue with the IVA agreement. If you do not then the remaining IVA debts will be left for you to pay off, and in full rather than the managed, agreed amounts that the IVA had been set up for e.g. any existing loan will need now to be paid off in full. This IVA debt will also include the cost of the IVA itself, which otherwise you would not have paid. If you know for certain that you are not someone who can responsibly maintain any kind of monthly payment, then an IVA may not be the best solution for you.

Whether or not an IVA turns out to be your ideal package or not, Escape Debt offer numerous different possible solutions to your financial problems. We have counselled thousands of UK residents in getting through their debt problems, and an IVA is only one possible solution. Contact us for a no-risk, free consultation on your debt situation and how we can help you.

IVA as a bankruptcy alternative

Thousands of people are left with seemingly no option but to claim for bankruptcy, every year. A bankruptcy is a very serious financial matter which leaves a person with long term consequences which are very difficult to come back from, and a stigma which will affect your future job prospects. You will likely also have to sign away your home and any assets of value. Any company you own will also have to be closed.

With such a grim forecast for the future, be glad that there ARE alternatives to bankruptcy. Escape Debt's team has years of experience in helping people to improve their lives and finances with such alternatives. Exactly which solution is right for you can not be predicted, and will require an in-depth discussion and examination of your situation, between yourself and our Escape Debt team. However, one of the most successful and popular bankruptcy alternatives is a debt solution known as an IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement.

An IVA is a legally binding agreement between the debtor and the creditor. It can offer some definite advantages to claiming bankruptcy, and can often deal more effectively with your debts than a debt management plan. As a legal agreement, if you fail to keep to the terms and conditions of your IVA then you would likely be declared bankrupt and have to deal with what is usually a more uncomfortable and difficult situation than if you had kept to the terms of the IVA.

For the IVA to be approved, creditors who hold more than 75% of your total packaged debt must agree by vote to accept the IVA. If the vote is successful, the other 25% will be held to your agreement, regardless of their opinion.

A bankruptcy is frequently a public and humiliating process. An IVA offers advantages here. The differences and advantages between an IVA versus bankruptcy are subtle but important. Your IVA will not be advertised in your local newspaper; your future job prospects should not be affected in the same way as if you had been forced to declared bankruptcy, and your home should remain safe.

When your IVA has successfully completed, the debts packaged into the IVA will be all cleared and your creditors will legally be unable to chase you for any of that debt. Some IVA companies will try and convince you that 'all' of your debt will be cleared, upon the completion of an IVA. This has the potential to be true in some cases, but only under those circumstances where all of your debt was a part of the IVA in the first place. In other words, if you have other debts outstanding, or you take on other debts during the course of the IVA, they will not be a part of the IVA. These debts will therefore not be changed by the completion of your IVA. If however all of your debt is within the IVA then the IVA's completion would leave you without debts. This is a very important distinction to make: we will be happy to explain this further for you, if you contact Escape Debt with your IVA questions.

Unlike with bankrupty, your post-IVA credit rating will still have some small worth left within it. However, it is important to understand that any financial solution as critical as an IVA or bankruptcy, in which all of your debts are so heavily 'managed', will have a strong effect upon your situation. After an IVA, as with a bankruptcy, you will find that it will be difficult to take on any new credit such as a loan or credit card. However, there is not quite the stigma as there is with bankruptcy. In the case of an IVA and mortgages, you may have a chance of a future agreement, in less time and with less difficulty than if you were to under go a bankruptcy procedure. However, this is far from certain and should be taken as a blanket reassurance about your chances!

Is an IVA the right bankruptcy alternative for you? It has been for thousands of people already. The way to find out about the pros and cons of IVA agreements, is to contact Escape Debt today. Our team can assess your situation and find if an IVA or another bankruptcy alternative is the right solution for you. Whether we consider that your best option is an IVA or bankruptcy, or debt management or another solution entirely, you can be sure of a friendly and confidential assessment of your situation.

If you are looking for advice on a company IVA, also known as a CVA, then you may wish to try Insolvency Network for all business debt related issues and questions which you may have.

The cost of an IVA

An IVA agreement will require you to make regular monthly payments to pay off the amount of debt which has been agreed upon, in order to satisfy your creditors. This amount will often be less than the total amount of money which you owe. The intent is to arrange a fixed period of time in which you can pay a reasonable sum each month, in order to pay off what you realistically can afford within the fixed time period of the IVA. In this way, you don't need to struggle to meet all of your payments and to be potentially trapped in an endless cycle of struggling and failing to meet debts for who knows how long. Instead, you are making a commitment to say that in the IVA time period, you will pay what you can realistically afford. If your creditors agree to this, then although they may be receiving less than the total amount which you owe, they are reassured to know that they will be receiving what you are able to pay.

Although an IVA is not a guarantee that you will continue to pay these amounts each month, it is an obligation which creditors are often happy about, as the seriousness of the IVA agreement means that should you not pay your monthly contributions, the IVA agreement will become void, and you may then be issued with a bankruptcy notice. This is a severe cost which you as a debtor will need to fulfill - you cannot miss any payments and hope for leniency. The intent of an IVA is to say that for a fixed time, you will absolutely be making payments, and that at the end, those debts which are packaged into the IVA are then cleared regardless of how much of the debt is outstanding. If you break the agreement, your creditors will come after you. If you complete the agreement then after an IVA, those creditors have no legal right to demand any more payments from you and must be satisfied.

How much does an IVA cost?

An IVA agreement will always be set up as a realistic amount that you can actually pay, and not simply a packaging together of your existing monthly sums into one payment. The fact on which the successful completion of an IVA hinges is how much can you really pay each month? The deciding of this amount will be taken with extreme care and sympathy for your financial situation.

After an IVA agreement completes, any cost of IVA set-up will then be handled by the creditors. If however you should fail to complete your IVA, you will be issued with the bill for these costs - yet another reason to be sure you take the agreement with total seriousness.

The actual amount of these IVA fees will be determined during the process of potentially arranging your IVA with you. Escape Debt will work in conjunction with a special IVA adviser to determine what these costs will be.

Your creditors will agree to pay your Insolvency Practitioner a fee for managing the IVA. This fee is taken from your disposable income rather than from separate creditor funds. If you complete your IVA as agreed then you will pay no more than your scheduled monthly instalments. However, if your IVA fails before completion then any outstanding fees to your Insolvency Practitioner will be taken from the amounts you have already paid and will not go towards reducing your debt. It’s also important to bear in mind that if you receive any windfall during your IVA (such as an inheritance, lottery win or if the equity in your house rising sharply) you may be required to pay off your debts in full.

So as long as you complete the IVA agreement (should you be suitable for an IVA in the first place), your IVA debts will be written off.

How long does an IVA last?

For a typical IVA, if you complete the process through to the end, then it will take usually five years. This is a standard fixed period during which your agreed monthly payments will take place. The cost / IVA fees will only be subject to payment once the process ends. If however you are unable or willing to continue the monthly IVA payments then it will end before the full period. THe exact amount for which you will then owe will then need to be determined. It may result in bankruptcy proceedings being thrown at you.