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IVAs: `affirmative action to address difficulties`

In the second quarter of the year, around 140 people every day applied for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), insolvencynews.com reports.

In total, 13,466 people in England and Wales entered an IVA between April and June - 10% more than there were over the same time period last year, and almost 15% more than there were in the first quarter of 2010.

Pat Boyden of PricewaterhouseCoopers said, "This figure might seem alarming, but it does indicate that individuals facing financial pressures are taking affirmative action to address their difficulties."

Mr Boyden did warn that there`s still "a risk that a significant percentage of these IVAs will not run their course during the potentially stormy times ahead".

"For many people," a spokesperson for the IVA Advisory Centre commented, "an IVA is the ideal solution to their debt problems - but that doesn`t mean an IVA is always the best way forward.

"In many cases, an alternative such as bankruptcy or a debt management plan may be more appropriate than an IVA. Even now, with record numbers of people entering IVAs in England and Wales - and a significant drop in the number of people entering bankruptcy - we`re still seeing more bankruptcies than IVAs.

"As always, our advice is to talk to an expert sooner rather than later. In general, the sooner someone takes action and starts tackling their debts, the more options they should have open to them."

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The IVA Advisory Centre is a licensed Insolvency Practice, offering expert debt advice as well as IVAs and a comprehensive range of other debt solutions. If you are in debt and would like to explore your options, contact one of our advisers today.