Just had a call from Trust Deed Scotland

Claree__x

I completed a Trust Deed last year and it was the best option for me. I'm not sure if it was trust deed scotland that I spoke to but I approached a company myself rather than them calling me - which probably makes all the difference in terms of the feeling of security from it.

In my case the initial company took my details and passed me on to an insolvency practitioner who had a good success rate with the lenders that I owed most too. From there on I did an income & expenditure, agreed a monthly payment (£190 for around £11,000 debt I believe) for 36 months. This was then "protected" and no creditors could/should hassle me.

Finished it up last year and I've had nothing since.

The difference is that I was in default with all/most of my debts so I really couldn't afford the minimums - and you can, so it's definitely something to think about.

I just wanted to say that it's not necessarily a bad thing

National_Debtline

Hi Spuddy

There’s some good advice from the others in this thread which I agree with. I hadn’t heard of an organisation called Trust Deed Scotland previously so I can’t comment on them specifically, but as a general rule I think it’s best to exercise caution when a company cold-calls you.

If you can afford your minimum contractual debt payments along with your reasonable living costs when you complete a statement of affairs a trust deed doesn’t seem like a viable option.

The link to the AIB website that f0nz posted is a good source of information on trust deeds.

Of course, you’re welcome to call National Debtline or one of the other free debt advice charities to get an un-biased view of your options.

James
@natdebtline

Spuddy27

Hi everyone,

Sorry I wasn't getting emails telling me I had some more replies, eek! I've kept the appointment but i've got two pages of questions to ask them.

As it stands just now I'm managing my minimum payments, sometimes just a few pounds more, but i'm left with hardly anything at the end of the month. I'm just so confused, I had my debt plan all set but now this has thrown a wee spanner in the works and i'm not sure which direction to go in.

I have two friends who have experience with TD's, one is currently a year into one, the other completed hers last year. She had a very similar amount of debt to me and said it's the best thing she's ever done.

I just don't know where to go from here. I had made a debt plan because the idea of a TD didn't cross my mind much, I didn't know enough about them to really think about it.

I have a debt free date of December 2018 but that all depends on a number of things, one being that I can continue to pay £600 a month, another being that i'm able to balance transfer my credit cards this time next year to something that's not going to gain interest. I'd kind of settled myself into the idea of paying all this money every month and just having to struggle along but if there's any help i'd like to at least explore the options.

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice, i'll speak with this woman on Wednesday and see what they say. I don't want to jump into anything without looking at every angle

Lx

Spuddy27

coolcait wrote: »

Exactly this - especially the bit in bold.


If someone called you and said "would you like to go bankrupt?" would you even consider it?


Especially when you are in a position where you'll be able to pay your debts off in three years.


The idea that someone can be 'eligible' for a trust deed infuriates me! It's not a Reader's Digest prize draw - it's insolvency!


You've been the victim of an organised sales pitch. If you want to declare yourself insolvent, then go ahead with the meeting.


If you want to pay your debts off in three years, as you've already planned, cancel the appointment.


If they do call everyone in Scotland, I hope they call me while I'm still feeling this outraged on behalf of all the poor sods who fall for their telesales misinformation...

Thanks very much for your comment I don't want to declare myself insolvent, who on earth would actually want to do that. I just want some advice and to see where I go from here.

Currently i'm affording my repayments but it leaves me very short at the end of the month and every payday is a worry as I wonder how much i'll have left after everything comes off. I usually spend the last week to two weeks before payday with very little to no money left, three weeks if it's a rotten five week month :-(

I'll keep the appointment and see what they have to say, and if I do find that a TD is my best bet I can always research the best person to go with I suppose. Again the cold calling does make me feel a little uneasy. If on the other hand I find it's not for me then i'm not really losing out as i've already resigned myself to a struggle for the next 3 years.

Thanks again for you reply!

Spuddy27

Claree__x wrote: »

I completed a Trust Deed last year and it was the best option for me. I'm not sure if it was trust deed scotland that I spoke to but I approached a company myself rather than them calling me - which probably makes all the difference in terms of the feeling of security from it.

In my case the initial company took my details and passed me on to an insolvency practitioner who had a good success rate with the lenders that I owed most too. From there on I did an income & expenditure, agreed a monthly payment (£190 for around £11,000 debt I believe) for 36 months. This was then "protected" and no creditors could/should hassle me.

Finished it up last year and I've had nothing since.

The difference is that I was in default with all/most of my debts so I really couldn't afford the minimums - and you can, so it's definitely something to think about.

I just wanted to say that it's not necessarily a bad thing

Thanks very much for your reply . How has your credit been since you finished your TD? My worry is that I can't get a mortgage for a very long time after it, but currently I can't save for a mortgage anyway.

Lx

f0nz

Saving while in a TD is totally different for everyone depending on their trustee. Some trustees will allow you to save spare money you have, others will not allow it and expect all spare money after agreed expenses to go into "the pot" so don't set your heart on being able to save a mortgage deposit. Of course after you've agreed your expenditure with your trustee you could always jiggle the figures a bit and shave a bit off here and there and pop that into savings.

If they give you a figure at your meeting take it with a pinch of salt as it will be the insolvency practitioners that will ultimately decide "fair allowances" and the payment they would like you to make to the TD so try not to be sucked in by attractive low payments. It may very well be the case that you'll get a low monthly payment which would be great but you also might not. We were asked to pay £400+ a month for a TD (40k debt) to make it "worthwhile" for the IP but when we went BR the allowances were more generous and we were given a £150 IPA payment per month.

If you popped a SOA on here we might be able to give you a bit more personalised advice

Spuddy27

f0nz wrote: »

Saving while in a TD is totally different for everyone depending on their trustee. Some trustees will allow you to save spare money you have, others will not allow it and expect all spare money after agreed expenses to go into "the pot" so don't set your heart on being able to save a mortgage deposit. Of course after you've agreed your expenditure with your trustee you could always jiggle the figures a bit and shave a bit off here and there and pop that into savings.

If they give you a figure at your meeting take it with a pinch of salt as it will be the insolvency practitioners that will ultimately decide "fair allowances" and the payment they would like you to make to the TD so try not to be sucked in by attractive low payments. It may very well be the case that you'll get a low monthly payment which would be great but you also might not. We were asked to pay £400+ a month for a TD (40k debt) to make it "worthwhile" for the IP but when we went BR the allowances were more generous and we were given a £150 IPA payment per month.

If you popped a SOA on here we might be able to give you a bit more personalised advice

Thanks so much for your replies, it's helping me out a lot :-). I've been researching it almost constantly since getting the call and changing my mind. I'm now swaying back to just staying as I am, struggling through and just paying everything off myself.

Its 3 years away (surely i'll get a balance transfer card this time next year!) and my credit rating should surely improve. I'd settled and resigned myself to that anyway, it's just that this phone call gave me another angle to look at and it's thrown me off.

I'll find that SOA thing and pop it up here actually, thats a good idea

Lx

f0nz

Sorry, another addition, because a TD is a form of insolvency its pretty much just as bad to your credit file as bankruptcy. You can build it back up but it will take time.

f0nz

Oo cross post

Here's the link for the SOA incase you don't have it

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php


If you carry on as you are for now there's nothing stopping you looking into it again if your circumstances change or servicing the debt becomes unmanageable. Just take it one month at a time

Spuddy27

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 2 we both have cars which we need for work, I work out of town.

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1750
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 I haven't included my partners monthly income but i've shown the amounts I pay for everything as we half everything house wise.
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1750

Monthly Expense DetailsPlease bear in mind all house related bills are halved here as my partner pays half too
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 61
Rent.................................... 200
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 45
Electricity............................. 25
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 49.5 I'm stuck in a contract here until Oct 2016 then this is going to reduce drastically
TV Licence.............................. 6
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 86 Again we're in a 12 month contract which ends in January 2016
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 20 a year
Car Insurance........................... 45 Need to reduce this but have a £100 fine to pay if I do, renews in Sept so will shop about
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 872.5


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0Not sure how much it's worth, about £2300 last time I checked
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase 1 Couch ...... 546......(42).......0 Paid off April 2016
Hire Purchase 2 Laptop................855......(19).......0Paid off October 2018, however planning on paying back early around June 2016
Total secured & HP debts...... 1401......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Santander loan.................12530.....286.......0 Not sure
Barclaycard....................3400......75........0Half the balance is interest free, the other is gaining interest
Virgin card....................5400......75........0As above
Overdraft......................900.......100.......0
Very...........................285.......30........0
Total unsecured debts..........22515.....566.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,750
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 872.5
Available for debt repayments........... 877.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 566
Amount left after debt repayments....... 311.5

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -1,401
Total Unsecured debt.................... -22,515
Net Assets.............................. -23,916

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

I may have done this wrong guys, but i'm sure everything is in there I've added in some points as i've checked it but please feel free to add in some more suggestions.

Thanks! You're all stars

Lx