What is an IVA?

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors. It lets you pay off your debt at a fixed monthly amount based on your budget, usually over a period of 5 years. Interest and charges are frozen and the people you owe money to cannot make any further demands on you. Once your final payment is made, your remaining debt is legally written off leaving you totally debt free.

Debt is a growing problem. IVAs were introduced as a government approved alternative to bankruptcy and a sensible debt solution for people in serious debt. IVAs are an insolvency procedure and part of the 1986 Insolvency Act. They're supervised by LICENSED Insolvency Practitioners.

The advantages?

IVAs are a respected solution for people who are struggling with serious debt but want to avoid bankruptcy. Nearly 50,000 people will enter an IVA this year alone.

An IVA is designed to help you make partial repayment of your debt at a level you can afford, unlike bankruptcy. IVAs are private agreements so your name will not appear in the newspaper. Your boss does not need to know. Your professional status will not be affected so you can carry on your career without interruption. You can run a normal current account as long as it doesn’t have an overdraft facility. Calls and letters from your creditors will stop. At the end of the IVA term, your credit rating can be restored.

Qualifying for an IVA

IVAs are suitable for people with larger debts - usually totalling £15,000 or more. If you own your own home or have any valuable assets, you may have to release equity as part of the IVA. You must maintain your monthly IVA payments. You risk bankruptcy if you don't. You won't be able to take out any further unsecured borrowing, for example a credit card, during the IVA term. It may be possible, however, to take out a mortgage or remortgage your property.

This is how a Burn a Debt IVA works:

Step 1

Take our simple on-line test and find out in 60 seconds if an IVA is right for you.

Step 2

We'll send you a simple questionnaire in the post (or you can complete it on line in your own time) or with the help of one of our trained debt counsellors. Just answer the questions about your debts, your income and your expenses. We'll do the rest. We'll prepare a proposal stating how much money you can afford to repay each month. We'll put this schedule to the people you owe money to.

Step 3

If 75% of your creditors agree to the proposal, your IVA will go ahead. Then all you need to do is keep on top of the monthly payments and, at the end of the term, you'll be totally debt free. The rest of the money you owe will be legally written off.

Don't forget - we'll keep all your information private. No-one needs to know you have an IVA apart from you, us and your creditors. This is a sensible, private way out of serious debt problems and you can get the ball rolling right now.

Which debt solution is best for you? Find out now with our 60 second test.