What we offer if you're considering an IVA
IndividualVoluntaryArrangements.net helps people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland find out whether an Individual Voluntary Arrangement could bring their debts back under control. If you're dealing with several creditors, rising interest and payments you can't keep up with, our free IVA check is the place to start. We talk through your situation, explain how an IVA would work for you specifically and are clear about the downsides as well as the benefits.
If an IVA looks right, we'll explain how it's set up by a licensed Insolvency Practitioner and what the next few weeks would involve. If it doesn't, we'll tell you, and point you towards an option that fits better.
What happens after you get in touch
- We contact you by phone or email at the time you choose
- We go through your debts, income and outgoings with you
- You get a straight answer on whether an IVA is likely to suit you, with no obligation
An IVA lets you make one affordable monthly payment towards your unsecured debts, usually for five years. When it ends successfully, the remaining balance of the debts included is written off.
An IVA in a nutshell
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a formal insolvency procedure created by the Insolvency Act 1986 in England and Wales, with equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland. It is an alternative to bankruptcy for people who can afford to repay some, but not all, of what they owe.
An IVA must be set up and supervised by a licensed Insolvency Practitioner (IP). The IP looks at your income, essential spending, assets and debts, and works out what you can realistically afford to pay each month. This forms a proposal that is sent to your creditors.
Your creditors then vote. If creditors holding at least 75% of the debt (by value, of those who vote) agree, the IVA is approved and becomes legally binding on all the unsecured creditors included, even those who voted against or didn't vote.
What happens once your IVA is approved?
- Interest and charges on the debts included are frozen.
- Creditors bound by the IVA can no longer contact you about the debt or take legal action to recover it.
- You make a single monthly payment to your Insolvency Practitioner, who distributes it to creditors after fees.
- Your circumstances are reviewed each year, and your payment may go up or down if your income changes.
- When you finish, you receive a completion certificate and the remaining balance of the included debts is written off.
Who is an IVA for?
IVAs tend to suit people who have a regular income, owe a significant amount to several creditors and can't realistically repay it in full within a reasonable time. They are also often used by homeowners who want to avoid the risks to their property that come with bankruptcy.
IVAs are available if you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you live in Scotland, the closest equivalent is a Protected Trust Deed. Read our IVA eligibility guide for more detail.
What are the downsides?
An IVA isn't right for everyone, and you should understand the commitments before you agree to one:
- It will be recorded on your credit file for six years and appear on the public Insolvency Register while active.
- You'll need to stick to a strict budget for the full term, usually five years.
- If you own a home, you may be asked to release equity towards the end of the IVA.
- If you can't keep up payments, the IVA may fail, and you could be left owing the remaining debt.
- Some debts, such as student loans and secured debts, can't be included.
See our full guide to the pros and cons of an IVA.
Free advice is available. Before agreeing to any debt solution, you can get free, impartial advice from services such as MoneyHelper. A good adviser will always explain all of your options, not just an IVA.
IVA vs other debt solutions
An IVA sits between informal arrangements and bankruptcy. Compared with a Debt Management Plan, it gives you legal protection and a fixed end date with a write-off, but it's a formal insolvency with a bigger impact on your credit file. Compared with bankruptcy, it gives you more control over your assets, but usually lasts longer.
Use our debt solutions comparison to see how the options stack up.
Why start with a free IVA check?
Many people put off dealing with debt because they're worried about being pushed into something they don't fully understand. Our free IVA check is designed to avoid that. It's a conversation, not a commitment. We listen to what's happening, explain how an IVA would apply to your circumstances and leave you to decide in your own time.
What we'll need from you
- A rough list of who you owe money to and how much.
- Your monthly take-home income, including any benefits.
- Your main outgoings, such as rent or mortgage, council tax, energy and travel.
- Whether you own your home, and if so, roughly what it's worth.
What you'll know afterwards
- Whether an IVA is likely to be suitable for you.
- Roughly what an affordable monthly payment might look like.
- What an IVA would mean for your home, credit file and job.
- Which alternatives are worth considering, including free ones.
Situations where we're often asked to help
Every enquiry is different, but some situations come up again and again. People get in touch when minimum payments on several credit cards have become unmanageable, when a loan taken out to consolidate debts hasn't worked, when creditors have started passing accounts to collection agencies, or when a change such as separation, illness or reduced hours has made existing commitments impossible. If any of these sound familiar, an IVA may be worth exploring, and our IVA calculator can give you a quick illustration before you speak to us.