I would have thought that if this wasn't down in writing then you would have a good case. I don't understand why the companies that charge this fee don't just include it amongst their others. The company that I am with and a few others that I have heard of don't charge this fee. It obviously isn't a legal thing! On the otherhand, my sister in law was told the same as you.

Hi dm29.

All sources of income, including child benefit, will be considered when setting or reviewing a trust deed payment.

We've normally heard that the £500 fee is optional and that the only consequence of not paying it is that your home is subject to revaluation if the value has increased.

The information that you have reported that was provided to you seems to be extremely aggressive; we've not heard of this type of approach being taken before.

Thanks for replies - I will certainly be queriying this. SkintAlly, do you know which company told your SIL this? I honestly wish I had never went near a TD, it is by far the worst mistake I have ever made!!

I think it was Grant Thornton. Have you had other bad experiences on top of this?

Thanks. Yea loads - read back on some of my posts!! I've just had another baby, lost my tax credits of £40 per month and since April this year my wages have increased from £1238 to £1283 per month. The extra £45 wages minus tax credits equals £5 extra income per month yet they have increased my monthly conts by £68!! I'm completely sick to the back teeth of them. They're also saying I have arrears and my TD has been extended by 11 months.

How can they do that? surely your contributions can only change if you gain extra income?

Hi DM29

They will apply for your wages to be arrested AND sequestration! Wonder how that works.

Any attempt at a wage arrestment would be rejected by the court on the basis of the information you have provided. You mention that this £500 has been added to the contribution. Is this correct. It's hardly a third party payment if your paying for it personally.

Did they give a reason for the rise in contribution?

Mark

Hi Mark and thank you for your reply.

I'm so glad you have made the point about the 3rd party paying the nominal fee! Wish I would have thought of that when I was speaking to the IP today! I will certainly be calling them tomorrow and asking them this. When I spoke to IP today I asked how much I would be paying back in total when the TD is finished if my monthly cont does not change from now until the end of the TD. When she was going through everything i.e. all my monthly conts added together along with the initial payment of £150 she also said "including the nominal fee" I said I would not be paying any nominal fee due to there being no equity in my property she said this must be paid. I told her no way was I paying this as I was told at the start this was optional and if I did pay it, any interest the TD had in my property would be released. She said what I was told isn't correct and it is company policy that this £500 is paid and if I do not pay it then she will apply for my wages arrested and for my sequestration. She then said she did not want to do this as I am 2 years into the TD and if she applied for my sequestration then I would have to start from the start again and pay monthly conts for an additional 5 years. To be honest I didn't ask about how it was being added to the conts - I just assumed that the TD being extended was due to this.

The reason she gave for the increase was that my income had went up. When I questioned this with regards to my tax credits stopping she said I was to wait on the paperwork being sent out and to look at it and if I felt she had done something wrong to get back in touch and she would do a mini review.

Can I also ask - if they were to apply for my wages to be arrested, can they also apply for sequestration? Or is it one or the other?

Hi dm29.

Based upon the circumstances that you're describing (and assuming there aren't other issues as well) it's difficult to envisage either of these outcomes just because you're not paying this £500 nominal fee.

I've absolutely no idea why five years would be quoted in connection to contributions into a bankruptcy.

It looks like you'll need to look over the payment calculation carefully. Have you been told that you'll receive the full list of income and expenditure from which they're working?

Hi TDA,

Yes, she said she will send all paperwork to me including a list of the income and expenditure.

I've also looked through all my paperwork I was sent initially (before signing up to the TD) and nowhere on it does it mention anything about this £500 nominal fee. One of the things that was said to me today was that this payment was stated on the initial paperwork which I signed and therefore it must be paid. I don't think the person dealing with my case has a clue what she's talking about!

That may be true dm29, some of what you are reporting makes little sense.

It will be interesting to hear your thoughts once you receive the promised paperwork.

Hi All,

Have just spoken with my IP on the phone. All statements of income and expenditure sent out to me yesterday so I should receive them tomorrow. She said on the phone that she hadn't taken off my tax credits - even though I sent proof that they have stopped - so I think this may explain the increase. She is going to look through my file to find proof of tax credits ending and have a look at this again.

When I questioned the nominal fee and the fact that I had looked through all my paperwork and couldn't find anything I had signed which even mentioned a nominal fee, she told me that she should have something which I have signed regarding this so I have asked this to be sent to me also. She explained that if I didn't pay the nominal fee then at the very end of the TD my property would be re-valued and if there was any equity then my TD would be extended so I could pay this. She then said if I didn't pay the nominal fee and the property was re-valued and there was no equity then the £500 still has to be paid. When I asked about the 3rd party who was supposed to pay this she said if I didn't have a 3rd party to pay it then I would be liable to pay it and my TD would be extended by the relevant amount of months for me to pay the £500. She said if I still refused to pay it then she would apply for my sequestration and put in an order for my wages to be arrested.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Hello dm29.

Hopefully on the contribution side of things that will bring the matter to a close pretty quickly now that the source of the error has been identified.

It's certainly true that your home may be revalued if the £500 nominal fee isn't paid so there is a decision for you to make based upon your assessment of the situation. The other comments still seem very odd though.

I'd suggest writing to your Trustee personally and asking them to confirm the information that has been provided to you on the phone.