IVAs ‘help borrowers face their problems’

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) can help people who are heavily indebted address their financial issues and to find a solution, one expert has made clear.

In many cases, British borrowers effectively bury their heads in the sand and hope their debt management problems will solve themselves, suggests Nick O’Reilly, vice president of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3).

Mr O’Reilly remarked: “The thing about voluntary arrangements is that it’s a finite period and you know that providing you abide by the terms of the arrangement, at the end of it will be successfully concluded and you will be able to write off a proportion of the money that you owe.

“That’s a much better option for people than just putting it on the back burner.”

He went on to suggest that IVAs can prove to be particularly beneficial for young credit consumers, who use them to clear debt and make a fresh start before taking on the financial responsibilities of getting married or buying a property.

The average amount spent on a wedding ceremony now stands at around £11,000 in the UK, according to the latest figures from F&C Asset Management.