Individual voluntary arrangements are legally binding and enable you (the debtor...the person that owes money) to reach a compromise with the creditor (the person or organisation you owe money to). This arrangement has advantages over the alternative of bankruptcy as it leaves more options open to you. An IVA is available to anyone. It does not matter whether you are an individual, a sole trader or partner in a business. If you own property and in contrast to bankruptcy, an IVA can protect you from having it confiscated.
The actual procedure of drawing up an IVA is complex and you will need the help of a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner to draw up the proposals from information that you provide. This information must be honest and include a declaration of your assets and anticipated future earnings.
An IVA is likely to be made if it offers the creditors more of their money back than if you were made bankrupt. It offers the advantage (over bankruptcy) that you can continue to trade if you are in business and the conditions for payments will be tailored to your own circumstances. However, it must be understood that an IVA is a last chance, and if you fail to meet the conditions you will be made bankrupt and your possessions seized. You will almost certainly pay more in an IVA than you will by going bankrupt. The advantage is that you can continue trading if you are in business and your credit rating will not be adversely affected.
If you get an IVA you will have to pay an affordable monthly sum for between 3 to 5 years after which your debt is completely cleared even if you have not repaid the original amount owed. In fact up to 75% of debt can be written off in this way. As I have said before this will only happen if your creditors get more money back by an IVA than they would by making you bankrupt.
During an Individual Voluntary Arrangement you will not be able to borrow any more money; even credit cards and store cards must not be used. If this causes a problem you can still use pre-paid credit cards.
To summarise; if you owe money and are being pressurised by a creditor (or creditors) you should certainly consider an I V A as it will make your repayments affordable and may help to protect some of your assets. Please note that obtaining an IVA is not a legal right: your creditors will vote on the matter and those who own at least 75% or more of what you owe must agree to it.
PLEASE NOTE
Licensed Insolvency Practitioners (IVA specialists) earn a considerable fee in setting up an IVA on your behalf. Although beneficial in many cases, some practitioners may try to persuade you to take out one when you really do not need to do so. It is therefore important to understand the process fully so that you will not be pressured into something that you don't really need.