My situation was similar, around £12k in credit cards, £15k in bank loans and around £5k in HP. I agreed an IVA for the credit cards and bank loans and was able to keep the car (the HP was kept outside the arrangement). Instead of monthly outgoings of £1,000 I paid £200 a month for 19 months followed by £395 for the final 41 months once the HP had finished. There may be better options and debtinfo sums it up perfectly. The first few months are tough then the next few years breeze by and gradually it just gets easier and easier. And when the 60th payment is done the sense of relief is amazing. I've been debt free for just over 2 years now and never want to see another credit card again. Good luck

My IVA started at £200 per months for 19 months then rose to £395 for the remaining term. The reason was as suggested above a hire purchase agreement for a car. The car loan could not be applied to the IVA because no creditor could get more than the 25p per £1 set out in the original IVA. Therefore the car and HP were excluded on the basis the car was necessary for my work and without it I could not earn and therefore pay. IVA payments can certainly go up if you have changes in your outgoings. In my case the car HP concluded so the spare cash went straight to the IVA. For me personally it was the best move i ever made.

I think they are a con. I took up the "free" service last year and didn't get much out of it so cancelled it before the period ended. This month I had to get a report due to a request from my bank. I had to pay the charge because it knew I had already had a free period. Fair enough I thought. But to view the score I had to pay another fee. I checked the details held and saw that my address was nine months out of date so I updated it and paid the fee. The score was rock bottom because it said I was not registered for voting when I plainly was and voted in the June elections. I went back to the personal details page and saw that addresses don't update for 24 hours. I was furious, not least that they say they are a credit agency but they do not hold my current address. I sent them an e-mail demanding a refund and an explanation of why they do not hold my current address. Today I got a fob-off to say they would not refund any of the payment - they have no record of my address change - even though I did it on the night I rejoined. And even if they did, while banks and others can view the side of the report that holds my current address my side of the report requires my self service. Bonkers. I think they are a [problem] and will never use them again.