Expert suggests alternatives to IVAs
Published On 29 August 2007
Debt management plans offer people an alternative to an IVA, as they allow them to minimise their repayments, an industry expert has said.Recently, a spokesperson for Debt Free Direct said that some providers were making it tougher for people in debt to obtain IVAs.
Indeed, Chris Tapp, the deputy director of Credit Action, confirmed that some lenders were now loathe to offer IVAs to everyone. However, he added that there were viable alternatives to manage debt.
"The main option would be a debt management plan. Where somebody can't afford to keep up their payments at the same rate - their monthly outgoings are simply too much - they can get arranged a debt management plan," he explained.
"It means that your monthly payments are affordable. You only pay what you can afford to pay.
"Going the other way, if someone is struggling to make payments and the bank just won't accept the offer of an IVA, then unfortunately bankruptcy is often the only other viable option."
Figures from the Insolvency Service indicate that the number of IVAs obtained in the second quarter of 2007 dropped by 15.1 per cent when compared to the first three months of the year.
