I was miss-sold an IVA?  I have been hearing that again lately from people claiming that their IVA provider took advantage of them.  People explain their situation and ask if they were miss-sold an IVA as they are in an IVA now and struggling with the payments.

My answer is, if you were looking to avoid bankruptcy, and showed the ability to afford the IVA at the time it was set-up, how were you miss-sold? 

Then they go on about the fees and how they could be out of debt in just one year if they went bankrupt.  Possibly true, the statement about being out of debt in one year if they went bankrupt, but they also could have been ordered to pay into the bankruptcy for three years if they received an Income Payment Arrangement (IPA) or Income Payment Order (IPO). And if they can fund an IVA, then the odds are high they would receive an IPA or IPO.

In regards to fees for an IVA, the fact is, yes there are fees to the Insolvency Practitioner for an IVA, but the other fact is you make your payments for five years and then you are out of debt.  You pay nothing more if you do not own a property, and if you do own a property the IVA will help you save it as you may lose it in bankruptcy.

Now I am not addressing those people that were pushed or steered towards an IVA when bankruptcy may have been the stronger option due to unstable employment or those that simple want the quickest way to be free of debt.

But again, if you want to avoid bankruptcy, due to moral reasons, you own property, or your job may be an issue, than an IVA is a good option.

Another thing I have been hearing lately is on the annual review for some IVA’s.  The cost of living has gone up such as mortgage payments, petrol, household utilities, etc and this has caused a problem in meeting the monthly IVA payment due to this increase in basic expenditures.

This is a very real, serious issue that does need to be addressed by the IP’s and the powers that be.  In some instances, depending on how long a person has had their IVA, it may be able to be modified and changes made to address this, but for many it cannot be modified so there is a real issue of the IVA failing over time.  Hopefully, this will be dealt with before it may become a more serious problem.

So for many the IVA option is a good one, as for being miss-sold, it may not be that as much as it is other circumstances or a change of heart that has caused a person to decide they no longer want to avoid bankruptcy or be in an IVA.

If you want to discuss your situation with your IVA, contact me and I'll be happy to help.

Jon