Failed Trust Deed

Sososad

Hi there, hoping someone out there can help answer my questions, i feel that I am at the end of my tether and no where to turn. We signed a Trust Deed at the end of last year, it failed to become protected and the Trustee advised us that the only option was bankruptcy, this scared me a lot as my husband is self employed and so am I, although we dont make huge amounts of money (wishful thinking!!). Here goes!!

1. After being told bankruptcy was our only option by the Trustee I was not sure that this was the right advise and said i would rather try and pay all my debts back and go back on the debt management plan, he said to cancel the standing order and sent me back all my paperwork and confirmed in writing that he has resigned as Trustee. I suppose my questions on this one is are -

a) Are we still answerable to this Trustee
b) Is the Trust Deed still in force.
c) Also are we doing wrong by not paying into the Trust Deed even though we are paying one hundred pounds more a month and nearly ready to pay another hundred pound on top totalling to £410 as appossed to £210 which the Trustee wanted us to pay.

Went to see CAB who told me to go back and see their money advisor when i did i saw a lady who wasnt a money advisor and has now referred me to another branch (nearly 4 weeks since i first saw CAB) I am now waiting on them contacting me to make an appointment to go and see them. The lady i saw the second time said if we could afford £410 per month then we would be eligible for the DAS Scheme and would have to see the money advisor at another branch, although since reading on the internet it states that if you are in a Trust Deed you cannot be on the DAS scheme (just wish i knew about this before entering into a trust deed). Also know one seems to know if i am in a Trust Deed or not, the Trustee's secretary confirmed by telephone that i was not in a Trust Deed, although on the website it says that a Trust Deed is not cancellable.

Confused? yes me too please help.
Thanks

fiveyearplan

I'm sorry I don't know much about BR in Scotland but I'm bumping this up so others can see.

Miss_Poohs

Hi SoSo - we, or rather my husband is in a DAS, and we were/are finding it a struggle. We had our adviser out to the house to go throught the options with us again, one of those being a Trust Deed. We got the impression that there is no going back on the Trust Deed one its under way.

Have to stress I am by no means certain of this and in our panic we may well have grabbed the wrong end of the rather sh*tty stick.

All these debt advisory places are packed to the gunnels right now, at least in this area they are.

We have been seeing a local authority approved adviser - through Welfare Rights.

I'll be watching your post for futher clarification.

Good luck to you - I know exactly how you're feeling.

Miss P

coolcait

Hiya Sososad

That's a very interesting question! (Meaning no disrespect to the very difficult situation you find yourself in ).

Everything I've ever known about Trust Deeds to date has suggested that once you're in it, you're in it - until your trustee discharges you. And, having glanced at the regulations, there doesn't seem to be anything in it about the trustee resigning and telling you that you're no longer in a trust deed

However....

in your case, you have written evidence that your trustee has resigned, that you have cancelled the standing order, and he has returned all of your paperwork. It does look like he has somehow released you from the terms of the Trust Deed.

It's true that you can't enter DAS if you're in a Trust Deed. The big question here seems to be "Are you in a trust deed?"

It might be useful to call the DAS helpline at the Accountant in Bankruptcy (0845 612 6425) and run the situation past them. You don't have to give your name. But if you fill them in on the background you've given us, they should be able to tell you if you can still do a DAS.

By the way, your trustee should have given you information about all of the alternatives to a trust deed - including DAS - before you signed. If he didn't then that in itself would be reasonable grounds to complain about the advice he gave you.

HTH, (and please let us know if you find out anything from AiB or anywhere else - it's the kind of info which might come in handy for someone else in the future).

Good luck with getting things sorted out!

Sososad

Hi, Coolcait,

After having seen and spoke with CAB over the past couple of months, they have applied for me to go into a DAS and so far (fingers crossed!!) no objections. Will hopefully find out on Friday if it is all to go ahead or not, i thought my 21 days was up tomorrow so i guess CAB are just giving it a couple of extra days just in case!!. They said they will call me when there is something to tell, but hey!! i cant wait so i will call on Friday even just to know where we are in it or not. Will be back soon, dont think i will sleep from now until Friday