Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a Government approved scheme where an agreement is made with creditors for the debtor to pay off the outstanding debt in 5 years.

Individual voluntary arrangement Interest rates and charges are frozen but the agreement is legally binding and not flexible in any way. However, once it has been agreed the creditors are not allowed to add interest or charges to the sum outstanding. The agreement is fixed and the whole agreement is governed by the Insolvency Act of 1986.

An IVA is specifically designed to avoid the many issues and stigmas surrounding bankruptcy.

Some Advantages	Some Disadvantages
Debt Free in 5 Years Interest charges frozen Single Monthly Payment Repaired Credit Rating Fixed, Legally Binding Agreement Protection from Court Action Professional Status Unaffected Payment demands stopped	Possible Release of Home Equity No unsecured borrowing allowed during the Arrangement Inflexible regime for 5 years Damaged Credit Rating Longer than Bankruptcy Pay back more than you will in bankruptcy All creditors must be included

If an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is the right solution, it will be a private matter between yourself and your creditors. No publicity appears in the local papers. However your name will be on the insolvency register which is available on the internet.

Is it right for me?

You must be technically insolvent which means that you cannot pay all of your debts as they currently fall due for payment. To qualify you must not have proposed an IVA within the past 12 months.

Someone must be willing to act as your nominee. This person must be a licensed insolvency practitioner who is regulated by one of the recognised Professional Regulatory Bodies.

Debt Free Whizz works with an associated company who will deal with every aspect of your case from start to finish. We do not just collect your information and then refer it, for a fee, to a panel of insolvency practitioners.

If this is the appropriate course of action for you and it has a realistic chance of success then it should be considered.