. An IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a lawfully bonding contract between you and your creditors. It will help you improve your financial situation within a 'reasonable' time-scale. There are several ways in which an IVA could affect yourself and your family, here are some of these:
Take the pressure off - immediately reduce the huge pressures of debt for you and your family. An IVA allows you to manage your debt, without direct response with your creditors. It is great for you and your family because it means that you will no longer get aggressive letters through your letterbox. In addition, an IVA will ensure you receive legal protection from creditors that may otherwise wish to seek legal action against you. Your home will also be protected from repossession.
Privacy - with an IVA you can keep financial stresses private as you deal with them. It can often be embarrassing when forced to resort to bankruptcy and it is often the last choice that people would rather avoid. A voluntary arrangement will be kept private and save the embarrassment of debt for you and your family. It will not be printed in your local newspaper and will only be available in the insolvency register.
Bad Credit - a problem with an IVA, like many debt solutions, is that your credit rating will be affected for up to six years. You will, therefore, find it hard to get credit whether this be on a credit card or in any other form.
Bad credit rating can also prevent you from obtaining services and products such as television, telephone and broadband services too. This can be a serious inconvenience for the whole family, although this all depends on your personal situation.