IVA Articles
Articles and Information on everything related to IVAs
IVA : How Do I Find The Best IVA Company For Me ?
Individual Voluntary Arrangements are administered by Insolvency Practitioners (I.P.s), and there are many based all over the country. As in all walks of life though, some are better than others, so finding a reputable Insolvency Practitioner when you need one is not always straight forward.
A common way of finding an Insolvency Practitioner is to use an intermediary Individual Voluntary Arrangement company, who will assess your case on its merits, and then suggest a reputable I.P. company to help you.
This in itself can lead to uncertainty because, as with the Insolvency Practitioners, some intermediary Individual Voluntary Arrangement companies are better than others.
The choices people make at this time are crucial.
So the question is- How do you decide which Individual Voluntary Arrangement company to use from the many available choose from?
A good starting point is to use an Individual Voluntary Arrangement company that has been recommended to you by someone you know. However, if this is not possible, using the internet is a useful way to find Individual Voluntary Arrangement companies which offer this service, but be cautious.
Use the tips below to establish which Individual Voluntary Arrangement company you are most comfortable with:
1. Be comfortable with the adviser that you speak to.
You ought to be able to discuss any aspect of your financial, and sometimes personal, circumstances with them. Your adviser should have a good knowledge of the IVA process, and be able to use their experience to guide you forward.
2. Don't use an Individual Voluntary Arrangement company that insists on charging a fee for the preparation of the paperwork.
There are Individual Voluntary Arrangement companies like myIVA-Adviser.com that do this work for free.
3. Be sure that the Individual Voluntary Arrangement company you're using has carried out a thorough analysis of your circumstances.
To be able to advise you on which action you should take it is essential that they really understand your true situation now.
4. Be sure that they talk through all your alternatives.
This could include Bankruptcy, other repayment plans and possibly even a Consolidation Loan or a re-mortgage which could release enough equity from your property to clear the debt via a Full and Final Settlement.
5. Be wary of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement company that suggest that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a foregone conclusion.
In truth an IVA's success is based on the decision of the creditors. A good Insolvency Practitioner, however, will always err on the side of caution and use his experience to assess each new case before commencing his work. This not only saves unnecessary time, effort and costs, but also goes some way to reassuring clients that, all things considered, a successful Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a likely outcome.
6. Don't be persuaded by Individual Voluntary Arrangement companies offering unrealistically low payment Individual Voluntary Arrangements.
It is easy to be given a false sense of security, but the truth is that IVA repayments are based on what you can reasonably afford, not what some clever sales person is trying to make you think is acceptable to creditors. Large write off figures are very persuasive, but are by no means guaranteed. Creditors will ask for modifications to your payments at your Creditors Meeting if they feel that you could reasonably afford to payback more money, and the IVA will not proceed if you can't agree to these modifications. So be sure that you feel the payments you are offering are fair and reasonable.
7. Look for a money back guarantee.
When you have decided that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is your best option, be sure that, if the Insolvency Practitioner takes payments pre Creditors Meeting, these funds are refundable should your application is unsuccessful.
8. Let your instincts guide your decision.
Don't feel that any one Individual Voluntary Arrangement company is the only one able to help you. If you feel that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement company is offering something to good to be true, ask them testing questions and gauge their advisers response. Don't forget, if you are in any doubt get a second opinion. Call 0800 880 7503 and ask us what we think.
At myIVA-Adviser.com we have a dedicated I.P. that assess all our cases immediately. Only when he has agreed that an IVA has an excellent prospect of being accepted by the creditors do we move onto the next stage.
All payments are protected by a full no quibble money back guarantee.
All our advisers have specialist knowledge on the Individual Voluntary Arrangement subject.
