When looking for a company to handle your Independent Voluntary Arrangement or IVA, you should do as any consumer would do when looking to make an investment in a product, shop around. All companies will claim to be the best, have a freephone number, be expert and experienced, qualified and authorised, but it is very important that you read the small print and get a sense of their history. Have the helped people that you know? A personal recommendation is probably better than any advertisement. Do they have testimonials? Do they look like they were all written by the same person. You can't trust the marketing, you need to go in and talk to the people themselves. Don't commit to anything until you've had a chance to discuss your situation with a number of companies, pick up a number of quotes for the cost of their assistance and don't be afraid to say No, Thank You.

When visiting a company, make sure you tell them the entire story, and give them the complete picture. Your IVA could fail if the information that you have given is not accurate. Make sure that the company you do choose are planning to accurately portray your situation to the creditors meeting, failure at this stage can lead to a narrowing of options. At the end of the day you have to go with a company that you personally trust, they don't promise you the earth, they are down to earth, realistic with their views and fully able to explain all aspects of the business. You've got to feel comfortable with these people representing you when it comes to your financial dealings and let's not forget, there will be a fee even if the proposal fails at the creditors meeting, so you need to choose carefully.

Make sure that they are licensed Insolvency Practitioners, look up their credentials if you are uncertain. Ask about. Put small queries on financial websites, asking people to email you about certain companies. That's a good way to get 'word of mouth' from other users out there on the Internet.

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