Hello Pamjo and welcome to the forum.

The answer to your first question isn't a clear one; the advantages and disadvantanges of bankruptcy in comparison to a trust deed will depend entirely upon your circumstances.

If you could provide us with detail on the following subjects we'll be able to provide information to you that is relevant to your circumstances:

1 - How much your debts are.
2 - Whether you're a homeowner and, if so, whether there is any equity in your home and whether it is owned just by you or jointly.
3 - Whether you have any other assets, for example a car worth more than £3000.
4 - Whether you're in a position to make a monthly payment towards the debts in an arrangement like a trust deed.
5 - Whether your occupation would be affected by either bankruptcy or a trust deed.

The second question you ask might be best covered after we've worked through the first part of the scenario.

26th aug 2006 i took a trust deed out paid it every month never missed 1 payment and still i get pesterd with dedt i was told it would be only 3yrs and i would be back 2 normal.i cant get a catalauge i get refused credit from every one my credit rateing is terrible i should have gone bankrupt i have sent them all letters and my release date from the deed but still nothing all a trust deed does is pay the lawyers £19,000 paid to trust deed about £3000 to the dedts £16000 to the lawyer better with bankruptcy

Welcome to the forum runrig66.

You certainly shouldn't have been informed that everything would immediately go back to normal upon the completion of your trust deed payments; restoring a good credit rating and access to credit will take some time as you're already finding. The exact same will be true of bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy would also have involved fees which would have diminished the return to your creditors from the contributions you'd have been expected to make into it. Despite this I agree that £19000 of fees for a trust deed seems very high and something I very much doubt creditor voting representatives would agree to now.

If you haven't seen it, the information on our "life after a trust deed" page (access from the main menu to the left) may be useful for you if you wish to work to re-establish your credit status over time.

Work over the next year may be especially helpful as sometime around this point next year the trust deed should no longer be apparent on your credit report.

Hi Pamjo & runrig66

As TDA says, every case should be taken on its own merits.

Trust Deeds were often more accessible than Bankruptcy until 15 November 2010. Before that date, to apply for your own bankruptcy a creditor must have already taken legal action againt you, and certain legal documents had to have been served on you. This made access to bankruptcy more difficult. Since the change in legislation on 15th Nov 2010, access to bankruptcy may be easier, if you cannot meet your contractual obligations- you can be given what is called a Certificate of Sequestration, which allows you to apply for bankruptcy.

The restictions for both are very similar. If you apply for your own bankruptcy, it is no longer a court process - the award is made by the Accountant in Bankruptcy. Both a Trust Deed & Bankruptcy are noted on your credit file for a period of 6 years.

Assets are treated in the same way, and will be realised for the benefit of your creditors, except you will have to pay the £500 for negative equity if you go for bankruptcy.

If you do not have a lot of disposable income then bankruptcy may be a better option, it really does depend on you individual situation as TDA says.

Runrig66, I am sorry you feel your Trust Deed did not work as well as it should have. Hopefully Panjo will have a better experience, which ever route he/she takes.

thank you for both your reply's i have sent 2 recorded letters to each of the companys i owed saying that they have been paid or settled and can they put as settled but every time i check my files it says defaulted not sure what i should do next, should i leave and waite till next year and all should be clear as it's 6yrs on ? 'HELP'

Anything that has happened in the last 6 years may show on your credit file, including defaults. Once they become longer than 6 years ago then they should drop off. I am not sure that it is possible to have them removed before that time unless the creditor agrees to, or a mistake has been made.

Having said that - I am not an expert on credit files

Hi runrig66

As Kevin says, after 6 years your Trust Deed will drop off your credit file. I have heard folk metion that you can have it changed to show the debt as 'satisfied', but, like Kevin, I am not an expert on credit records. There was a post about a month ago that gave an example letter of how to get your file ammended. I will try and look back to let you know when it was, or if anyone else can remember please let us know.

thank you both for your help.as yet i have no debts but my partner and i want to buy a house we have good jobs the house costs £250,000 our wages are £52,000 a year but every 1 turns me down.it mabe help if it says 'satisfied'

Are you working with a mortgage broker runrig66?

They'll be able to take a look at your credit file and spot any specific issues that may be holding you back.

They also know which mortgage lenders are more open-minded about certain types of credit record imperfections; this varies a lot from lender to lender.

However as you're (apparently) a couple of years out of your trust deed many mortgage lenders may not welcome your custom, especially the big name High Street lenders.

A mortgage broker should be able to tell you straight whether a mortgage application at the current time has a prospect of success based upon your needs and circumstances.

thank you my partner of 15yrs has a mortgage house value £120,000 outsanding £30,000. he has agrear credit history.mine not so good my records should be clear in 10 months but the house we both love has just come on the market.so hope we can get a mortgage

Although my TD is 3 years I always assumed 6 years to get file back to normal. I can't imagine I will even request my file till then !

Good luck runrig66!!

hi
Been looking at all sources of information and hadn't realised replies had been posted until now. Thanks to all!

From my enquiries, it looks as though a Trust Deed will not be the best(or even possible) option.

I have tried to make temporary payment arrangements and will maintain those for a few more months to give me time to do proper enquiries/info gathering.
I now recognise that my credit worthiness will not begin to improve until 6 years from the beginning of any chosen route, therefore sooner rather than later is best whichever choice I make.
As others have said, the variation in information available is huge. Ability, knowledge and confidence, conviction in giving advice are not always equal. That is, I have spoken with well-meaning but ill-informed advisors, consulted with others who are unwilling to look at a big picture and purely want to deal with Trust Deeds whether or not that is in my best interest.Still others are very honest in making it clear that their role is to act in the best interest of the lenders as opposed to me.
Shona, thanks for your reply, I wondered what your reference to £500 being payable for negative equity-who to, at what point and from where?
As an owner of several properties, I need to factor this in to a greater extent than perhaps others do.

Hello again Pamjo.

People can start to improve their credit rating once discharged from bankruptcy or a trust deed. Once it's no longer visible on a credit record at all (six years from the start) obviously more lenders may consider lending.

We hear from people frequently that standards of advice vary enormously and your experience backs this up.

Shona is referring to the £500 payment where a property has no equity at the start. She mentions in her post that the £500 will certainly be payable in bankruptcy. I've heard others saying that it's actually a bit of a lottery in terms of which IP you end up with if you go to the AIB directly and they pass your case out to one of their panel of firms.

Hopefully one of our experts can comment on this as there seems to be a slight difference of opinion.