Welcome to the trust deed forum JintyMcSkinty.

The site itself takes no position on any particular trust deed firm other than the three that we've chosen to feature (who are represented in this forum by Kevin, Mark and Shona).

Members of the site are free to post about their experiences in this and other threads. It's really for you to weigh up which firm you feel will be best to assist you from all of the information that is available to you.

I suspect that the firm you are working with are Wilson Andrews. They, like other firms, are free to post in the forum where their firms are named. Others have done so in the past and the IP from Wilson Andrews chose to respond to a thread or two recently where this was the case.

Whichever firm you choose to proceed with I'd suggest that the following are important considerations. They arise from common concerns that appear in the forum regularly:

1 - We feel that a face to face meeting is important. A trust deed isn't a simple or straightforward; a face to face meeting before signing a trust deed where lots of questions are asked and answered goes a long way to preventing misunderstandings later.

2 - If you're a homeowner make sure you know exactly how your home will be treated in the trust deed and get it confirmed in writing before signing. If there's equity that will need to be released, have a practical plan in mind how you'll do it.

3 - If you're a homeowner don't pay £500 to "protect the equity" in your home. Lots trust deed firms provide exactly the same outcome without requiring that a third party pay £500 for this purpose.

4 - If you're a car owner (or you own another significant asset) know exactly how this will be treated by the trust deed. Get it in writing before you sign.

5 - If you ever earn overtime, commission or a bonus clarify what will happen with it. Some firms will allow you to keep a portion of extra earnings, others might want it all paid over. Get this in writing before you sign.

These steps will help greatly in avoiding surprises and disappointments further down the line.

Hi jintymcskinty ( great name)

Wilson Andrews are a licenced Insolvency Pratitioners and subject to the same rules and regulations as all others.

Unfortunately there is a tendency to post on bad things as opposed to good things, so sometimes forums can be slightly one sided.

I can only advise ( yet again, you all shout!) that you ask for a face to face meeting, ensure all matters are fully discussed and confirmed in writing and then decide. Confirmation re contribution, increased contributions etc will hopefully be fully explained.

The unknown is the killer, but once you take away the unknowns, it should be a lot easier.

Mark

Thank you TDA

You are right, it is Wilson Andrews.

I have already been advised to stop paying my DD to the unsecured loans/cc's.
Would this be a problem if I were to chose another firm?

WA have already set the bal rolling to have my house valued.
I suspect there will be around 10-15 equity - half of which would be mine.
I was told to expect my TD to last up to 5 years because of this.
Does that sound right to anyone?

I own a car that is worth about 5k and was bout with one of the personal loans I am about to default on.
The advisor said this would be revalued at the end of the first 3yr, but I doubt it would be worth much then the way cars deprecciate(sp) in value.

As far as OT an Bonus, he said all of any bonus and 50% of OT.
I am salaried so OT isn't an issue. But I do receive an annual bonus.
In the last 2 yrs that has been just about 2k but can be up to 25% of my yearly wage.

To be honest I feel it's fair that any bonus went to pay of my debt.
I actually feel really guilty about entering a TD in the first place.

Thank you Mark.

I agree with you about the tendancy for folk to shout more about bad experiences rather than good ones.

I have been going about with a dark cloud over me for the last year or so as this debt grew arms and legs.
That seemed to be lifting as I went through this process. Then I saw all the negativity on WA.

I have taken Friday off work to give me time to sort out the DD etc that I need to kee going - Council Tax, Gas etc.
I might just phone WA to see if they can fit me in, in their Glasgow office then too.

Hi jintymcskinty

'The advisor said' would be my concern.

As detailed previoulsy it is imperative that you have the equity, car and bonus matters fully clarified in writing. Please, under no circumstances, accept the 'he said, she said' method of dealing with things with any business or firm.

Mark

Great advice again Mark.

Would it be too late in the day for me to go with you. lol!

The documents are to be posted to me in the next couple of days.
I suppose I better go over them with a fine tooth comb and find out that all the things mentioned in your post are there in black and white, or black and yellow!

Hi jintymcskinty

I've undernoted the guidance which applies to all IP's. Has this been followed?

'5.7 The insolvency practitioner should carry out an independent assessment of the financial circumstances of the debtor and should consider carefully whether a trust deed is the most appropriate means for dealing with the debtor's problems. Such consideration should be recorded by the practitioner and explained to the debtor in a letter immediately after the initial meeting or telephone interview. A full Statement of Affairs and Statement of Income and Expenditure must be prepared by the insolvency practitioner or, if prepared by a third party, checked by the practitioner. These statements must be agreed by the debtor who should be asked to sign them as evidence of such agreement'

Mark

I am waiting for those to arrive in the post along with the legal papers for me to sign.

The statement of affairs and statement of income was first done by a firm called Gregory Pennington via Think Money (who have bee great with me)
They have since passed me to WA and one of their guys went through it again yesterday with me.

As i said earlier, I have tried the remortgage and consolidation route to no avail -the reason why Think Money directed me to TD or a Debt Arrangement Scheme (i think)

After going through my income etc, he said the TD was by far the best choice.

Hi jintyre

Weird, we are posting almost exactly the same time. Please do not accept posted paperwork. Would you buy a house on this basis?

Some firms have 10 x the staff that I and a number of other firms have, yet I manage meetings in EVERY case.

Mark

So I should definately make time for and insist on a face to face before signing anything Mark?

Hi Jinty

Yes, without any doubt.

Even from your short post, there are far too many factors to sign a Trust Deed with any firm who have a discussion over the phone and will 'post' the paperwork to you.

It has taken a big leap to get this far, please just take time with the next and most important step.

Mark

Thanks again Mark.

I'll call them tomorrow.

Am I in anyway obligated to WA as far as me going through with a TD?

Jst in case they try to steer me away from a face to face I mean.

Hi jinty

No the obligation is only when you sign the docs.

At the moment you are just asking the questions and are bound by nothing.

Mark

What about time constraints with my creditors?
I have now cancelled all my DD's and i don't want to mess them about any more than I am.
The first few will be rejected in the next couple of weeks.