Debt Questions

Hi Everyone,
1st time poster on here and I really need some help. I owe a total of £49,000 and my wife probably owes about £20K in unsecured debt. We have an interest free mortgage of £108,500 & our house is worth about £115,000 maximum.

An IVA looks like the best option, however we have a 5 year old son and I don’t want to get rid of his comfortable home, so bankruptcy is not an option.

There are several questions that I need advice on and I hope someone can help:-

• What are reasonable amounts of expenditure that I should state I spend on essential items, I know that priority payments such as gas and mortgage are set in stone, however to give just 1 example: Next year my car requires a new cam belt and MOT + full service which will cost in the region of £700.00, would this be a figure the IP would consider fair?
• My wife has a job in a casual position, some months she can earn about £800 and other months she will only earn about £150. Will the IP calculate her income on her P60?
• On the odd occasion I have done building work for friends (Cash-in-hand) can this be included in my annual income, or should I just hide this under the mattress so-to-speak?
• This month I have finally come to the point where my lines of credit have been exhausted and from my monthly salary of £1900,00 I’m left with absolutely nothing.
• Finally, has anyone got a list of the financial institutions that are probably the most difficult to deal with regarding matters of dept?

I would be really grateful for any information you can provide to help me in this predicament.

I have now realised that I have to act now and will keep you all updated on my progression.

The bottom line for you is that you want to protect the family home.

Any insolvency practitioner will give you advice on what steps to take but we here would recommend contacting National Debtline, Payplan or CCCS who would look at the options for you. They can put together a budget from the figures you give them - and whatever figures you give them they will revise. They use either Common Financial Statement guidelines or CCCS guidelines which are similar to work out necessary household expenditure. There are some costs which are fixed and cannot be changed and others which if exceeded act as a trigger and have to be justified.

Cash in hand income should be declared - it is technically fraudulent to take earnings in this way as they should be declared for tax. Certainly any reputable company would say the same - you need to regularize the situation before admitting to this income.

Your wife's income would need to be averaged out - it seems to vary a lot so they would need to look at at least a full year's worth of payslips.

As you can see there are lots of things to take into account and as you are not thinking of doing your own DMP as you do have something to protect I would strongly advise you go to one of the free providers mentioned for further advice.

Sarah,
May I say that you are an angel in these dark times to most of us here.

The problem I have with the undeclaired income is what i have made in the past, it's not vast amounts but it's still taxable. I couldn't face a tax bill on top of what i already owe.

hi blu40
first of all don't panic i am in the same situation as you. its only money. you can't go to jail for owing the amounts you do. the best advice i can give you is that don't put your head in the sand as the debt is only going to go up. speak to a good I P found on the iva.com i'm dealing with gilesjones lady called melaine giles who have been fantastic there is life during and after iva and there are lots of companies out there to help you. good luck