Hi there.
So after James’s advice I have opened a simple bank account with the Co-op. I have got a new debit card and most standard banking facilities but no overdraft which is fine. I have not had one since being in my DMP anyway. I was paying £10 a month for my managed account before so now I do not need to waste that money.
After talking to James the other week I downloaded the living expenses guide for an IVA from the Beat my debt website and was surprised by what you can include, I can even include a budget for my daughters clothing. There is an allowance for this and other things that I certainly never included when I worked out my living expenses for my DMP.
I have now been through all my finances in detail and James has helped me put together my statement of affairs which included my income, living expenses, debts and mortgage and he then discussed how much my actual disposable income was. This will be the figure that is used to establish how much I can afford to pay monthly to my IVA. It turns out according to my statement of affairs that I can really only afford £170 per month where as I have been paying £300 to my DMP! No wonder I have been struggling so much…
I asked if I had to give details of any assets that I have but James said only if I have anything of real value such as antiques not just my household goods like the TV. I don’t have anything of value then!
I was given the opportunity to I review and agree the document and it has now been forwarded on to the IVA company that will be dealing with my application from now on. A lady called Sarah phoned me the next day. She said that the figure we had put down looked fine and she has asked me to forward some documents like bank statement and wages slips to her so that the figures can be verified. She was really helpful and didn’t make me feel small.
I now have to send in my bank statements for the last 3 months, 3 months wage slips, photo id, any loan agreements and the last statement for each of my debts. Plus my mortgage statement and an up to date valuation for my house. These documents are basically to prove that everything I put in my Statement of affairs is genuine.
At first I was a bit worried about the house valuation as I thought it would cost me to get one. However James recommended that I should speak to a local estate agent and tell them that I need a quick sale valuation as I have to move for a new job. I didn’t mention the IVA! They are coming on Tuesday afternoon. Once I have the valuations in writing I then just tell them in a couple of weeks that the job fell through. Very clever.
Hopefully after this I will have all my documents together and I will be able to send them through. Then they said the next stage is to get my IVA proposal drawn up which I will have to sign. It then gets sent to all my creditors for them to agree. I am really worried about this especially because the two payday loan companies refused to freeze interest in my DMP but Sarah really reassured me that my IVA will be accepted. She confirmed that payday loan creditors normally agree to IVAs so there should not be anything to worry about. We will see.
Having discussed the option with James I have decided to stop paying my DMP as I cannot really afford the agreed £300 a month. I am very worried about what will happen when they do not get the money this month but James said I should just tell them that I am starting an IVA and ask for them to put my account on hold. I will see what they say and let you know….
My daughter’s birthday is in a couple of weeks and I have had to resist the urge to spoil her by buying lots of presents. Instead we have talked about having a few of her friends over and doing a little pamper party, all homemade, she seems really excited about it and it will only cost me the price of some cupcake ingredients. Maybe living within a budget will have some positives too!
I will write again once I have submitted my documents and hear from my insolvency practitioner.
Sandyx
