Hi johnd.

I doubt that there is a right or wrong answer to this question.

Trust deeds are just one factor in the acceptance decision. To find out you'd probably just have to apply and see what happens.

Is there any particular reason to want to do it soon?

I got a "priority invitation" through the post from Vanquis a couple of weeks ago (I think they must target people in trust deeds) I filled it in as I reckoned I had nothing to lose. I have had to use payday loans on a couple of occasions and I reckoned a Vanquis card would be a better option. I got a phone call from them on Friday - they asked a few questions about my employment/income and then said I had been accepted! I was really surprised. I am almost 2 years into trust deed but it will be extended due to missed payments

There is nothing to stop you using a credit card whilst in a trust deed, however I would urge extreme caution as you could get into problems otherwise.
Any spare disposable income you have has to be paid in to your trust deed and isn't available to service new debts. I would say that you should only use a card if it is on a very temporary basis, ie until funds come in and you can clear the balance in full. Even then I think it is a risky business - you don't want to get sucked into a situation where you are struggling to cope with debt repayments again.

Perhaps the problem here is what would happen if, for example, quite expensive car repairs became necessary.

The best thing to do would be to contact your trustee and arrange for a temporary payment reduction or break to help pay for it.

If you have a credit card in your pocket the easiest thing to do would be just to get the repairs done and put them on the card.

The easy option comes with the risk that the balance cannot quickly be fully repaid, interest starts to mount, and no allowance is made to the trust deed payment to facilitate payment of this interest (so a new financial problem can quickly escalate).

People have to make their own decisions but I do agree with Kevin that there is a lot of risk here.

Hi Johnd

Personally I would apply sooner rather than later.

Vanquis appear to be more flexible than most, so hopefully it will go through.

Mark

I was thinking just to start the ball rolling with the credit rating,I will take it onboard all your comments and I will give it some thought

cheaper to take a payment break than the expense of a high APR loan or credit card,but sometimes you need to pay for something up front(ie car repair bill),so you could use the credit card then ask for a payment break to repay the card in full.

Get applying. I have one,but did wait until the TD was done and dusted.

Paul

I don't think that having acredit card while you're in a TD is necessarily a problem.

It's all about how you use it, and how you can afford the repayments.

So, if you use it to pay for petrol and other transport costs, which have already been budgeted for, and then pay it in full - from your transport budget - there's no problem TD-wise, and you're rebuilding your credit rating.

If you use it for expenses you haven't budgeted for, and have problems with repayments, then that can become a big problem from the point of view of your credit rating, and how you deal with this new credit card debt (you can't put it into the TD).

I'm not sure how the TD would even come into the picture at this point. Maybe if you tried to reduce your TD payments so that you could pay off this new debt? That would be a problem.

Mine is set up so that balance is paid in full by direct debit every month