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Missed IVA payments: what happens and when

One missed month is a problem to manage. Ignoring it is how a manageable problem becomes a failed arrangement.

Written by The My Debt Cleared editorial teamLast reviewed 23 August 2026Jurisdiction England, Wales & Northern IrelandEditorial policy
Missing an IVA payment is a breach of the arrangement. In practice supervisors distinguish a communicated, evidenced miss — usually handled by agreement, a payment break or term extension — from silent arrears, which trigger a formal breach process that can end in the IVA failing with debts revived and fees already spent.

The sequence

Arrears prompt contact from your supervisor; the arrangement’s terms set how much accumulated arrears constitutes default. A breach notice sets out what must happen to remedy it — catching up, a revised payment, or a variation creditors approve. Left unremedied, the supervisor can fail the arrangement, and in some cases is required to.

What failure would cost

Included debts come back into force less what creditors actually received; fees already paid are gone; creditors can resume action; and the IVA remains on your credit file for six years from the date the IVA starts regardless. When an IVA fails covers the aftermath fully.

The fix is always the same

Speak first. A payment break exists for precisely this, and supervisors would rather flex an arrangement than fail it. The one unrecoverable move is silence.

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