Imcville points out one invaluable lesson on/about this forum - a lesson has been learnt and rather than think "great - my 3 years are up, I can get a loan/credit card again", the very opposite is true! Going through the whole process of obtaining a PTD is a life changing experience and the value (and bit of pain) poses the question - to me anyway and I suspect others who have come out at the other end - "do I really need this purchase? Walking around with a wallet full of credit cards 3 years ago, all maxed out and getting nightly calls asking when I was going to make a payment (and being prepared to take their payment from some other company's card) - was not a fun time in my life! But the PTD has now run its course and I can only encourage others to stick with the plan, make all the payments on time, respond truthfully at review time and I can assure them that life can be good again!

Hi Charlie

Great post.

The Trust Deed legislation was designed to allow for exactly as you describe. That said, we have a responsibility for fairness as well as the people in the Trust Deed to stick to the agreement and finalise as close to the 3 year period as possible.

Mark

I appreciate Mark's comments, which is why I get irked when other posters ask questions like "Xmas is coming up - can I miss a payment (or two!)? or "I have had a win at the casino/lottery/bookies - do I need to disclose it?" My IP made clear at the outset that the legislation was to help those whose lifestyles had got them into financial trouble and that there was a way out through the PTD - but there were rules/obligations to be met. At risk of sounding heavy handed/sanctimonious, the PTD has changed my life immeasurably and not only have I learnt my lesson through the past three years, but I know I will NEVER return to a life of easy living at the expense of credit card or banking bodies. I can only encourage others to bite the bullet and play by the rules.

Hello Charlie1958.

I'm really pleased that your trust deed has, overall, been a positive experience.

I think one of the problems is that there are plenty of people out there promoting Scottish trust deeds as being an easy way to escape from debt. I think that this kind of starting point doesn't really encourage people to treat protected trust deeds as they are; a serious measure to deal with difficult debt issues.

It is important that creditors are treated fairly by those that enter into trust deeds. If they felt that too often this wasn't the case it would be easy for them to simply object and prevent them from becoming protected in the first place.

Where trust deeds work well seems to be where a genuine and honest compromise is created between an individual who will pay what they can realisitically afford in return for their creditors writing off what cannot be repaid within a particular timescale. I think the vast majority of people that sign trust deeds do fit into this category.

TDA - sound advice as always! Those considering a PTD must be prepared to make sacrifices - the money will not be there for those meals/drinks/nights out that people may have got used to. That does not suggest a life of a hermit beckons but a degree of frugality has to be expected. But as others have indicated as well as me, those three years DO pass and it would be a surprise to me if many who have gone through the process return to their old ways.

And that is why this forum is so rewarding - for me, I'd have welcomed the anonimity of this forum had I known about it three years plus so can fully relate to those who appear here for the first time with the questions which I and many others had banging around in our heads when the angry letters and incessant phone call persist. A PTD is not a magic wand, and certainly not the quick fix - it is the start, not the end of the process and if you abide by your legal obligations, the light at the end of the tunnel is certainly not a train!

Good posts Charlie1958-Thanks for taking time to come back after you're out the woods yourself! It is worth remembering that creditors are already releasing you from obligations based on circumstances and income levels presented to them. It does seem proper that they can collect more if you have more.

Ok, great posts by all here and it does put everything into context, I know we have sometimes a laugh here on this forum but Charlie1958 is correct. It was our fault we spent the money as we didn't really have to after all. I used to take my credit card out every Sunday and buy the kids xbox games which are expensive and then take them and my wife out for a meal. On a Monday I would regret it but it kept everyone happy.
Now it is 100% better, I am 20 months into the trust deed, money is a wee bit tight but to be honest my wife, kids and I have never been happier.
People always ask "when will my credit file be better?" tell me why because I surely never ever want to have credit again not unless it is a mortgage and I don't need one of them. It's not an offence to have a bad credit rating.

That's interesting sam21.

We hear from many people that they have no interest on using credit again after their trust deed, and from many for whom rebuilding their access to credit is very important to them.

Hi TDA,

Sorry but I don't understand, you say they have no interest in using credit, so how can they rebuild their credit file by not having any? I will do what my in laws do and that is save for things. You know they are in their 70's and they have never ever had credit. Yet they have a new car, lovely house and everything they would ever want. Quality!

Sorry sam21, maybe I didn't put that very clearly.
The point I was trying (failing?) to make it that upon completion of a trust deed people seem to fit into one of two broad groups in terms of their thoughts about credit in the future.

A lot of people wish to rebuild their credit ratings as soon as possible so that they can have "normal" access to credit again.

Many other people have little or no interest in using credit in the future as a result of their previous experiences.

I really like your suggestion about saving for things that you want. With all of the advertisements you see for credit now that almost sounds a bit old fashioned! However, the things we all buy will be a lot cheaper if we're not paying interest on top of the purchase price (having saved up to pay for them).
I guess where that gets difficult for most people is for the really expensive things like a car or a home though.

TDA - I recognise your view that "a lot of people wish to rebuild their credit ratings as soon as possible so that they can have "normal" access to credit again". I can only speak for myself by saying that it was having "normal access to credit" in the first place that got me into the problem Ii found myself in, and now thankfully I am out of it!
I fully accept that many may challenge my following view but I see myself as being little different to an ex-alcohlic who is tempted to celebrate three years of abstinence by going out on a bender! Like sam21, my life can still be complete without that new XBox game (even if I am gagging for the new Call of Duty Game!). I therefore do worry for those whose aim/first act of being discharged is to build up a good credit rating. Their will power may be stronger than mine but I have no wish to go back into that previous, very dark place, of 3 years ago.

Out of interest, and not intended as a warning to those I may have hurt above - has anyone ever had two Protected Trust Deeds? When the lessons of the first PTD did not work and they find themselves back at the doors of an IP? Now that is a scary thought!

Check the web for a wonderful article by Jasmine Birtles (the money magpie) called "It's better to be rich than look rich". It's very interesting reading and quite eye-opening for something we shouldn't really need to be told.

Hi Charlie1958.

To answer your specific question, it is possible for a person to enter into a protected trust deed having already completed one in the past (and it does happen).

Research on the reasons why people get into debt difficulty provides an interesting insight. It's estimated in much of the research that I've read that for around 50% of people the root cause of the difficulty is an unexpected change in their circumstances that would have been difficult to predict. Redundancy, divorce and ill-health are amongst the most common scenarios in this respect.

In terms of people entering a second trust deed I'm sure there are people who have repeated previous mistakes. I'm sure there are also many people as well who have just been really unlucky.

Hey Charlie1958,
The new Call of Duty game is good by the way, but Battlefield 3 is even better, guess what I saved the cash and bought it myself 😉 Now saving for the next new one!

I also get points added to my Game card that I can cash in for the next one, how good is that?

TDA - I am happy to ocme clean and admit I was simply stupid and greedy - if I wanted something, i wanted it NOW! Not tomorrow and certainly not next week. I have the utmost sympathy for those whose debt problems are caused by the situations you have described, whose spend has been on kids' clothes and food: drawing cash on cards to pay the mortgage/rent. Borrowing to survive/living a day to day existence. Harrowing real life stuff! Not the fantasy word I operated in, when I remember once hearing a song i'd forgotten about being played in a cafe so decided to go out and buy it on a CD in a nearby record store. But I wanted to hear the album NOW so obvioulsy I needed to buy a CD player NOW, and ones of the same standard as the three I had at home! And why did I do it? Becuase I could, because I had a load of plastic in my wallet saying "use us!" Utter madness, and never to be repeated on my part.