Write-off unaffordable debts with an IVA
IVAs are one of the most common types of debt solution in the UK. With an IVA, you can be debt-free in as little as 5 years, and up to 80%* of your debt can be written off.
The part that isn’t written off will be paid back in one affordable, monthly payment, and any unsecured debt you’ve got left after your IVA is finished will be written off.
Your creditors aren’t allowed to contact you once you’ve entered into an IVA either, meaning no more phone calls or emails from your lenders asking you for money. We’ll ask you to review your incomings and outgoings with us once a year to ensure your plan is still affordable.
Benefits of an IVA
- You’ll make one simple and affordable monthly payment towards your debts, usually over a period of 5 or 6 years.
- Once you’ve finished your IVA, any unsecured debt you’ve got left over will be written off, leaving you debt-free.
- Your lenders can’t contact you or pursue you for payment once you start an IVA.
- You’ll be able to keep your home, and won’t have to downsize in order to pay off your debts.
- There are no set-up fees to be paid before your IVA is agreed.
Things to be aware of
- You’ll have some spending restrictions while you’re in an IVA meaning that you are unable to take out extra credit without approval.
- Your credit rating will be negatively affected when you enter into an IVA.
- An IVA allows you to write off unsecured debts; it won’t help you to clear secured debts such as a mortgage.
- An IVA is a formal arrangement, so you need to comply with the terms in order for it to work; in rare cases you could face bankruptcy if the IVA fails.
- You’ll pay fees to the IVA company – however, these are included in your affordable, monthly payments.
“I dealt with Stephanie via WhatsApp to talk through the set-up of an IVA – so helpful, convenient and easy. I would recommend PayPlan to anyone who is looking to take the first step to get control of their finances; their staff give top class customer service.”
Mike, Trustpilot review 2019
How can I apply for an IVA?
Applying for an IVA with us is simple, easy and stress-free. Here’s how it works:
- We’ll start by making sure that an IVA is the best debt solution for you. You can use our free online debt solution tool or call us and speak to one of our specialists on 0800 280 2816.
- If an IVA is the right debt solution for your circumstances, we’ll talk through your finances together and agree and an affordable monthly payment for you.
- Once you’re happy with this, one of our IVA specialist companies (PayPlan Partnership Ltd or PayPlan Bespoke Solutions) will put forward your IVA proposal to your creditors.
- 90% of the IVA proposals we put forward to creditors are accepted.
- Since our creation in 1992, we’ve helped over 1 million people to become debt-free.
- *In 2018 we wrote off up to 80% of our clients’ debts in half of all non-equity cases.
Why not take a look at what some of our IVA clients had to say?
Apply for an IVA today
To apply for an IVA, simply call our specialist team for a confidential chat about your finances on 0800 280 2816. Our opening hours are 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 3pm on Saturdays.
Rather get your debt solution online?
We created our online debt solution tool, PlanFinder, so that you can get your debt solution online if you’d prefer not talk to anyone about your finances just yet. Completing the step-by-step form takes around 15 minutes, and you can then set up your debt solution by WhatsApp or email.
Your Questions Answered
An IVA is a legally binding agreement set up between you and your creditors for you to repay an amount you can afford over a fixed period of time; usually around five years. It allows any unsecured debts to be written off at the end of the IVA. Read more.
An IVA can cover the majority of your debts; there are no limits on the total amount of debt or the amount of creditors you owe money to. Commonly IVA’s are used to clear bank loans, overdrafts, credit cards, payday loans and council tax arrears.
There are few exceptions as to what can be included in an IVA but you can’t use an IVA to pay off secured debts, mortgages, court fines, student loans and maintenance arrears. You can view a full list of what debts can be included here.
An IVA will temporarily affect your credit rating but when you’re in debt, chances are your credit rating will be suffering anyway.
You will have to keep to your agreed budget for the length of your IVA, however this is calculated based on your income and expenditure, reviewed annually to ensure it is affordable and there is a degree of flexibility should you need it.
Your IVA will be added to the public Insolvency Register but this is usually only searched by credit reference agencies and your details will be removed upon completion. An IVA has short term effects but once it’s over it writes off all your debts and offers you a clean slate.
There is some qualifying criteria for an IVA, this could be flexible but we will discuss this with you when you call us, generally an IVA would be considered if:
- You are struggling to make payments to your unsecured creditors.
- You live in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. IVA’s are not available in Scotland – although a similar solution for Scottish residents is a trust deed.
- You owe at least £7,000 in unsecured debts. If you owe less than that there might be other more appropriate debt solutions. When you call us we will go through all of the options and offer advice specific to your circumstances.
In order to set up an IVA you require the expertise of an Insolvency Practitioner and because of this there are always fees associated with an IVA, regardless of the company you chose.
The fees for administering your IVA are funded out of the money you pay into your IVA each month.
You pay the agreed amount you can afford each month, and no extra charges are added. The amount you pay each month covers the IVA fees and charges and then the rest of the money goes to your creditors. The amount you pay each month would not change even if there weren’t any IVA charges, as that money would still go to your creditors.
*In 2018, PayPlan Partnership Ltd and PayPlan Bespoke Solutions Ltd wrote-off up to 80% of debt in half of all non-equity cases.