That's correct Knight.

The minimum term used to be three years, but around this time last year the minimum term became four years.

The change only applies to new trust deeds, it isn't retrospectively applied to old cases.

Hi Knight,

As TDA has advised Trust Deed's now are over a minimum period of 4 years.

I guess you got into your Trust Deed at the right time and saved yourself 1 year.

How have you found the Trust Deed process so far?

To be honest it has been quite difficult but I'm in a lot better place than I was before I started mentally. My wife and I have still to reach the end of a month whereby we didn't need to borrow a little till payday but we are getting there. My parents don't know we are in a trust deed but know we are trying to stick to a program to clear our debt. Despite having to constantly think about what we spend I would say it has been the best thing we have done.

I am one of the cases that has been transferred to Creditfix but I see no reason for all the panic that has been spoken about on this forum. I suppose the only thing that concerns me and that is worrying a lot of people is the one fundamental question - if we signed our trust deed with the assurance that no equity would be sought at the end of it, can Credit fix move the goalposts and force us to to? It seems strange that no one can answer that, but like I said, I'm not overly worried. Time will tell...

Hi Knight.

Trust deeds are a personal appointment. Your new trustee may work for a company, but they are personally responsible for handling your case. Personally responsible to their regulator, to the creditors, to you.

The individual that has become your trustee went out of their way, personally, to provide an assurance regarding prior agreements via this forum. This is a company that usually chooses not to participate in any way via forums. If it were their intention to go back on that later, wouldn't they have made life a whole lot harder for themselves by providing that assurance here?

The "can they" question is impossible to answer, but we've maybe not done a great job of explaining why judging by the way the subject has continued to run here. To give a totally (TOTALLY!) incomparable set of examples I can do the following things this afternoon:
1 - Walk out of the office and never return.
2 - Attack a stranger on the street.
3 - Drink a lot at lunchtime and be rude to enquirers this afternoon.
Of course none of these things would be reasonable, I'm not going to do them, and if I did there might well be very unwelcome consequences for me.

So any of us can pretty much do anything at any time. The real questions might be will we do it, why would we do it, and what would the consequences of doing such a thing be?

And of course nobody can answer those questions apart from the person who is (or who probably isn't) going to make that decision. Which is why people can only get a useful answer from that person (or the people who are responsible to that person).

Hi Knight,

It's good to hear that you have found the Trust Deed to be a positive thing and you are now in a better place mentally even although it has been quite difficult journey.

Often adjusting to a Trust Deed and having to learn to try and live within a budget and having the ability to pay for things on credit removed can be a difficult thing to adjust to. For a lot of people when they successfully complete their Trust Deed they are in a better position to live with a budget and not overspend so It can be useful for that purpose.

As TDA has advised, a Trustee is personally responsible for the running and any decision that is made in a Trust Deed. I've advised previously it's hard for me to really say if the Trustee can change the goalposts from what your original Trustee agreed with you.

If your new Trustee did decide to change anything with regards to your case and what you had previously agreed and you decided to take the matter further via a complaint process then he would be accountable for that decision and he would need to justify his reason for changing things in your case from what was previously agreed. He can't just change things because he feels like it.

There are legislation, regulations and other forms of guidance that tell us how a Trust Deed, Sequestration or Debt Arrangement Scheme should work. Every Insolvency Practitioner has to work with these but each Insolvency Practitioner can interpret the legislation and regulations differently which in turn can result in a variation from firm to firm on how they deal with cases. An example of this is the £500 equity payment to protect a property in a Trust Deed. Some firms charge this, some firms don't.

So far from what I have followed on the forum he has started that he will honour any previous agreement. This was a personal statement made by him.

Like you have said time will tell. I think for anyone with real concerns about their case that has been involved in the transfer should address them specifically to their Trustee at Creditfix as it's only him who can give the assurances that people are after.

How long do you have left on your Trust Deed Knight?

TDA and David, thank you for getting back to me. I totally understand what you are both saying and I am not going to make any more comments on the matter...Like I said, too much is being made of it and you have explained it very well.

I am happy and my future is bright. I look forward to the day I will be debt free and want to go through life living within my means and avoiding all the pitfalls of before. Thank you.