An IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) is a formal agreement with your unsecured creditors to settle your debt over a fixed period – normally 5 years

Included in this article:

What is an IVA?
How to start an IVA
Additional Information

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What is an IVA?

If you are struggling to pay the debt that you owe, the IVA allows you to reduce all of the payments to your unsecured creditors and combine them into a single affordable amount. At the end of the Arrangement any debt that was included but is still outstanding is written off.

It is a formal legally binding agreement so once in place your creditors are not allowed to add further interest or charges to your debts. They are also prevented from taking further action against you such as county court judgements, charging orders or a petition for your bankruptcy.

Generally speaking to start an IVA you will need to have unsecured debts of at least £8,000 and be able to pay at least £100 towards your debt each month (although in certain circumstances these figures could be lower).

Although the standard length of an IVA is 5 years, it is possible to settle the agreement early if you are able to offer a lump sum to your creditors.

How to start an IVA

If you decide to start an IVA we will complete a detailed Statement of your Financial Affairs with you to confirm your eligibility.

Given that we still believe that it is a suitable solution for you we will then forward your details to our preferred Insolvency Practitioner partner who will propose the Arrangement to your creditors on your behalf.

Additional Information from Wilmott Turner

More information about the IVA solution is available in the left hand column. However only a brief overview is given here. For more details and advice please see one of our dedicated information websites:

IVA Information
Beat My Debt – IVA

Government advice about personal debt solutions

As well as the information found on this website the Government’s Insolvency Service has produced a useful guide to personal debt solutions which you might also find useful: “In Debt – Dealing with your creditors”.

Money Helper (provided by the Money & Pension Service) is an independent service set up by the Government to provide people with free advice about all aspects of personal finances. For further information, please follow this link: Help if you are struggling with debt.

It is also recommended that you read this one page document produced by the Money & Pensions Service entitled “Dealing with debt – 5 things you should know”.