Good morning

The outlook for this year is bleak to say the least and most individuals, regardless of financial position, are likely to be affected by the price hikes this year.

An individual subject to a Protected Trust Deed or Sequestration can request a review of their contribution at any time and assessed on a case-by-case basis based on their circumstances. That position remains unchanged.

In assessing the income and expenditure we use the Common Financial Statement that provides categories of expenditure items. Allowances are provided for each category other than essential expenditure and based on the composition of the household.

One of the difficulties now is that a certain percentage of individuals are working on a hybrid model with blended work and home working. What I am seeing with my own clients is that their travel costs as well as childcare costs are reducing whilst other costs are increasing but generally the net position remains unchanged. It is a complicated matter.

Anyone faced with financial difficulty should review their own finances to see if they can move to cheaper alternatives such as insurance, mobile phone, broadband etc. You can also ask for the Local Authority to space council tax over a 12-month period rather than a 10-month period. If you live alone remember to apply for your council tax discount of 25%. If you are born before 26 Sep 1955, you could also get £100-300, depending on circumstances, to help with the heating bills.

In terms of the points you raised, it may be appropriate for you to discuss your concerns with your case administrator. It is highly possible they would consider increase energy costs as that is a situation out with your control. In terms of the broadband, it would be a good idea to shop around or speak to retention department. There are fantastic deals available from a huge choice of suppliers.

Paul

There isn't really any need for renegotiation as such - Trust Deed contributions can be varied by the Trustee without requiring to be agreed by creditors. It should simply be a matter of carrying out budget reviews and making amendments to contribution levels as necessary.
At the end of the day, nobody should be expected to pay more than they can reasonably afford, so I think it is a fair assumption that there will likely be widespread reductions in contribution levels due to the increasing cost of living. You may well find some Trustees will resist this more vigorously than others though.

Thanks very much for the responses guys, plenty of food for thought.

My current energy supplier has offered me a deal that looks realistic on current usage that is fixed for two years. It's an extra £47 per month than I am paying at the moment. It's higher than the new cap but the rub is whether it will be when the cap increases again in October.

Hi Cif
After watching Martin Lewis' Money show programme on TV last Thursday, he has looked at the figures of how energy will increase in the next year, and he reckons there is no fixed rate deals that would make customers better off, so his advice at present is to go with the price cap, even the new cap. It would be worthwhile trying to watch the programme if it's on Catchup tv, before you commit to the extra £47 per month.

I've seen it Tigh. The offer is an existing customer one, so it's not available on the general market. Taking into account it going up again in October, he said that for any fix to be of use to you then it shouldn't be any more than 59% you are paying now. Doing nothing means the April increase will take me to about an extra £30 anyway. This way I have certainty to February 2024.

It would be a case of paying more now to protect paying even more in October. Something I need to discuss with my Trustee before doing anything I think.