IVA costs and fees
Regardless of who supervises your IVA, there will be fees associated. This is due to the nature of the IVA and the process involved.
The costs and fees involved in an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) can be worrying for people already struggling with their finances. It’s important to note however that these fees can vary significantly between IVA providers and only some companies ask for them to be paid up front.
How much does an IVA cost?
We recommend our clients to our associated companies, PayPlan Partnership Limited or PayPlan Bespoke Solutions Limited, and they don’t charge any upfront fees for setting up your IVA. Instead once your IVA has been approved, the charges will be taken from your agreed monthly payments.
Including your fees within your monthly payments however, will not affect or increase the amount you pay each month. This is because your creditors agree to a lower repayment to cover these costs. You simply pay the amount agreed in the IVA proposal and your Insolvency Practitioner will distribute the funds to cover the fees and your creditor repayments. If there weren’t any IVA fees you would still pay the same amount each month anyway.
What are the IVA fees and what do they cover?
There are three main charges involved when setting up an IVA that are payable throughout the duration of your repayment plan:
Nominee fee
The nominee fee is the cost incurred while assisting you when putting together your proposal to creditors. The Nominee (who is also a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner) will go through your income and expenditure and help you work out how much you can afford to repay each month. They will also consider your assets, discuss with you whether an IVA is right for you, check you meet the criteria and help you put together a proposal that is likely to be accepted by your creditors. An IVA requires a specialist, qualified practitioner to set up the IVA which is why there is a cost. The actual fee largely depends on which practitioner you use and who your creditors are, but it will usually either amount to the value of the first five months of your IVA payments or £1,000, whichever is the greater.
Supervisor fee
The Supervisor fee is there to cover the ongoing costs of the IVA and is usually set at 15% of payments into the IVA. This fee is usually paid once the nominee’s fee has been paid in full. Your Nominee will become your Supervisor once your IVA is approved and they will be on hand to answer any questions or concerns you may have throughout your IVA. They will also conduct annual reviews to check your income and expenditure is correct and you can still afford your monthly payments.
Disbursements
Disbursements are payments made to third parties involved in your IVA, to cover essentials such as the registration fee that comes with being added to the insolvency register.
There is no available legal aid to assist with the setting up of an IVA, but PayPlan don’t charge upfront fees. You won’t have to worry about these fees as these will be deducted from your monthly repayments.
In the unlikely event that you find you are able to pay the full amount of debt owed at any point throughout your IVA, bear in mind that you will then be liable to pay these fees on top of your outstanding debt.
Although there are fees associated with an IVA, PayPlan offer free debt advice so if you want to talk about the debt solutions available to help you, you can get in touch with us for free. Simply call our freephone number on 0800 316 1833 or request a callback. Our advisers will discuss your income and expenditure and look at the debt solutions that might be available to you. They will then make a recommendation based on your circumstances and assist you through the next steps.
Get in touch today to discuss your options and ensure you’re on the right path to clearing your debts.
*In the case of a one-off lump sum settlement