Interim Order

However, in the majority of cases this is not required. Once an interim order has been established your creditors cannot pursue any bankruptcy proceedings against you or initiate any new ones.

In fact whilst an interim order is in place, they are not allowed to take any other debt enforcement action against you without the express permission of the court.

Creditors' Meeting

The Creditors' Meeting will take place not less than 2 weeks, but usually no longer than 4 weeks after the IVA proposal has been drawn up and sent out.

In the meeting, which will usually be chaired by your Insolvency Practitioner, the creditors will vote on whether or not to accept the IVA proposal, reject it, or call for it to be amended. There may well be some haggling over the exact terms of the IVA. You will not normally be needed at this meeting because the Insolvency Practitioner will act on your behalf, but you it would help if you stay close to a telephone at the time that the meeting is scheduled.

In fact your creditors may not attend the meeting either, instead asking the Insolvency Practitioner to cast their vote by proxy.

Creditors Vote on the IVA Proposal

If the IVA proposal is accepted, all creditors are bound by law to accept it regardless of whether they approved it or not, and they cannot take any further action against you if you stick to the terms of the IVA. If a new creditor appears after the IVA has started, they can demand the amount they would have received had they been included at the beginning of the IVA.

Once your proposal is accepted, your creditors will usually ask your Insolvency Practitioner to supervise the IVA, and you will make a single monthly payment into a fund that he or she will manage.

It’s vital that you keep up with the payments, otherwise the IVA could be declared invalid and your creditors would very likely sue you for bankruptcy. Let’s be fair to your creditors. If they are prepared to write off a large part of your debt, and you still don’t make payments, what else can they do? They will literally give up and petition for your bankruptcy, to get some of their money back

It is very important that you inform your Insolvency Practitioner of any changes in your circumstances.

After the duration of the Individual Voluntary Arrangement, your debts will be written off, your creditors will be unable to pursue any further action against you – and you will be debt free.

To find out more about how an IVA can help you solve your debt problems, call us anytime 24 hours 7 days on 08000 434 336, or use our online application form.