An IVA should only be considered for serious debt problems as failure to maintain payments could result in bankruptcy.
A record of your IVA will be retained by credit reference agencies for a period of six years. Your credit rating will be impaired and it may be harder to obtain credit in the medium to long term.

The fees involved in an IVA are the Nominee's fee and Supervisor's fees. These fees are deducted from money you pay into your IVA and the creditors share the balance. The level of our fees are actually determined by the creditors at the meeting of creditors.
The Nominee's fee covers the set-up costs of an IVA. This includes tasks such as:
Initial monthly payments go towards paying the Nominee's fee.
The Supervisor's fee is a small percentage of each monthly payment made (once the nominee's fee has been paid). This covers the ongoing service from your IP (Insolvency Practitioner) and our client support team.
Client support takes care of the day-to-day running of your IVA, and deals with any issues that may arise. They'll also be your first point of contact for issues regarding your IVA. Your IP is the person who helps you with your IVA proposal and any other necessary legal work. If at any point your circumstances change and you need to adjust your IVA accordingly, your IP will take care of this.
Fees vary with the complexity of a case. This is an example for illustrative purposes, based on a client, with £31,000 of unsecured debts on an IVA lasting 5 years and without equity in a property paying £300 per month.
*15% of further monthly payments once the Nominee's fee has been satisfied
** Bond fee £50, DTI Fee £15, plus other case dependent costs.
You can withdraw your proposal for a voluntary arrangement at any point up and including the day of your creditor's meeting. Once the arrangement has been approved at the creditor's meeting and you have agreed to be bound by its terms, you have entered formal insolvency proceedings and no cooling off period applies.