You don’t have to cancel the Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) if you’re struggling to pay. Talk to your insolvency practitioner straight away – they might be able to change your regular payments.
If you still want to cancel your IVA, you can – but you’ll still have to deal with your debts, and you could be made bankrupt.
How to cancel your IVA
Write to or email your insolvency practitioner and ask to cancel your IVA. You can only cancel if your insolvency practitioner and your creditors agree. They might agree to a cancellation if:
- your circumstances mean it’s unlikely you’ll be able to pay any more money – for example if you have a long-term illness
- you can show the creditors you’re able to repay more money without the IVA
If they agree to the cancellation, your insolvency practitioner will fail the IVA – this means the IVA hasn’t worked and will end.
If they don’t agree to the cancellation, you could stop making payments. This will breach the terms and conditions of the IVA and cause it to fail. It could take weeks or months – it depends how quickly your insolvency practitioner takes action to fail the IVA after the missed payments.
What happens after your IVA fails
Your insolvency practitioner will send you a notice of termination.
You’ll still have to:
- make arrangements with your creditors to sort out your left over debts
- pay your insolvency practitioner fees – if you haven’t already
Act quickly to sort out your remaining debts – your creditors might start charging interest on your debts and you could be made bankrupt by the insolvency practitioner or your creditors.