Why would I need an IVA? I have a lot of debt to sort out and people have recommended I get an IVA.

IVAs, debt management plans, debt consolidation  and bankruptcy are the most common routes out of unaffordable debt.

IVAs are right for people who genuinely cannot afford to repay all they owe but who are prepared to try to pay back as much as they can afford. At ClearDebt, we understand that no matter how much or little debt you have, the burden is often too much to bear. With that in mind, unlike some of our competitors, we do not have a minimum amount of £15,000 debt as a pre-requisite for applying for an IVA with us. Despite this, you will still need to meet the following criteria:

- You must technically be “insolvent” – in other words, you must be unable to pay all your debts as and when they currently fall due.

-  If you wish to propose an IVA with an interim order (this is usually only the case for self-employed people), you must not have tried to enter an IVA within the past 12 months.

- You will need someone, such as us, to act as your nominee. A nominee is a person who is a licensed Insolvency Practitioner and who is regulated by a Recognised Professional Body. ClearDebt is a firm with licensed Insolvency Practitioners and can handle your case from start to finish. Unlike some firms (who advertise promoting IVAs) and just refer your case to someone else for a referral fee, we will stay with you and support you throughout the process.

In order to make a fair proposal to your creditors, we do advise you to only apply for an IVA if you feel you would be able to make a monthly contribution of at least £150, depending on the level of your debt, over 5 years. The agreed payment will be calcuated specifically for you and will be both affordable and sustainable. It will be the amount you can afford after you take into account all of your current unsecured debt payments (which you would no longer be making once inside an IVA) and realistic living costs based on industry-wide guidelines.

If you are still unsure as to whether an IVA would be right for you, why not try our ClearDebt Analyser?. It takes just two minutes and will give you an initial assessment to identify if an IVA is right for you.  Alternatively, you can always call one of our consultants for FREE and impartial advice on FREEPHONE 08000 192 095.