IVA Stages

The entire process begins once you have decided that proposing an IVA to your creditors is the best solution for your debt management problems. This decision usually comes after consulting with an expert on debt management and IVAs.

Preparing for the IVA

This preparatory stage takes between four to six weeks. At this stage, the Insolvency Practitioner who will facilitate the processing of your IVA will work closely with you in coming up with a proposal for your creditors to help get you out of debt.

The Creditors Meeting

The second stage of the IVA process will commence once you have completed preparing your proposal:

The Insolvency Practitioner or IP working on your case will arrange for a creditors meeting. This meeting is conducted over the phone; your proposal will be presented to your creditors and their approval or agreement to the proposal will be subject of this meeting.
Once your creditors receive your IVA proposal, a receipt of the proposal will be logged and your proposal will be forwarded to a specialist who will determine whether your proposal is acceptable. These specialists will collect the claims from the creditors and will typically submit their votes on the day before the creditors meeting.
Voting instructions, together with the claim documents, are faxed to the IP. Creditors will vote depending on the size of the unsecured debts you have incurred. For the IVA proposal to be approved, 75% of your creditors must agree to the proposal.
Upon voting, creditors may accept your proposal as it is, reject it, or accept it but require some modifications to be made.

Getting the creditors to agree to your proposal may take a few weeks as some creditors may request for some changes to be made to your proposal. You may or may not adhere to the request for changes.

Duration of the IVA

Once your proposal has been approved by the creditors, the IVA will officially start and you will then be required to pay your debts on a monthly basis. This amount usually starts at £200 and is based on the debtor’s financial capacity to pay; most IVAs last for up to five years. More information on Duration of the IVA here

Completion of the IVA

The final stage of the IVA occurs once you have successfully completed your IVA. Your records will be updated and at this time, you will no longer be in debt. Documentation will be provided detailing the successful completion of your IVA.

Once you have gone through your IVA successfully, you can then start to repair your credit rating.