Hi liana,
You may wish to speak to a mortgage broker about raising finance to pay off your third party, as they will have access to lenders/products that may be willing to advance you funds. However, the recent "credit crunch" has affected the availability of such borrowing, and a lot will depend on how much equity you have in your property.
Good luck - and let us know how you get on, it's very important for us to hear what's happening out there.

Hi Liana

Just curious, but who are and what is the position with Carousel and why can't the Trustee proceed without them finalising investigations?

Mark

Thank you for a speedy reply!

There was doubt over the validity and enforceability of a number of credit and loan agreements entered into by me prior to TD. According to TD a number of these agreements may be challengeable, the result of which could be a further recovery of funds into the debtor's estate.

The TD appointed Cartel (sorry not Carousel) Client Review Limited to act on their behalf and carry out a review of the various agreements held by me to determine whether or not a potential claim exists, and, if so, to determine if such a claim should be pursued.

This however was instigated in April 2008 and according to the TD the won't formally discharge me until the investigation is concluded??

Any advice??

Hi Liana

Invocas I am guessing. Good luck, because I know of a couple of cases where the TD is now entering it's 5th year because of this nonsense.

Mark

Thanks Mark

But this has not inspired me with confidence!! Can the TD continue even if the creditors have agreed to a final settlement and my contributions are completed?

Hi Liana

The problem in the cases I am aware of is that all sums have been paid in full, however the Trustee is refusing to allow them to be discharged on the 3rd anniversary until the 'investigations' are concluded as you mentioned earlier. This could be an indefinite period and while this practise continues, it may have a detrimental effect on individuals looking for mortgages, credit etc as there has been no formal discharge.

Mark

Thanks Mark - I will continue to pursue Cartel (relentlessly!) which they assure me their investigation is in the final stage???

Thanks anyway for the advice!

Hello Mark & Kevin,

Am I reading this correctly? My understanding is that liana accepted that money was owed on these "debts" and entered them into her arrangement but the Trustee is looking to whether a legal loophole exists on some of the contracts so that they can be deemed unenforceable?

Is this common practice?

Hi TDA

Got it in one. The answer is no it is not common practice, something only Invocas/New Tomorrow appear to do from what I have heard.

Mark

Is there anyway I can push Cartel or Invocas on this??

Although the interest on my property has been discharged and my contributions are now paid in full - I still need to raise the funds to pay my third party??

I'm pleased the TD is completed and it was a way for me to resolve my financial crisis, but I am disappointed that I can't be discharged formally until Cartel have concluded. I was not aware of this process when I signed the TD??

The process handled by Cartel and other similar firms has really only come to the fore in the past couple of years; I don't think it would have been considered at the start of your Trust Deed and therefore I'm not sure you could have been advised about it.

I think in terms of pushing things along it would be sensible to demand a clear explanation of what has been done on your case, what the next stage is, and when it will happen. Their "investigation is in the final stage" sounds like complete fluff! Could you ask them what this really means and let us know?

This is a ridiculous situation, Liana, and I feel angry on your behalf. I can't see any reason why you should not be discharged from your trust deed if you have met all of your obligations under it. If the trustee wishes to investigate the legalities of the loan agreements I don't see why they can't discharge you and carry on with their investigations afterwards.

I suppose it might depend on the exact wording of the trust deed you signed - it may be that you cannot be discharged until your creditors have received their dividend, which your trustee is currently withholding. If so, I would say that your trustee should have to justify why they did not undertake these investigations sooner - and indeed why they are investigating this at all if you do not dispute the debts in question.

If the situation drags on much longer I think you should consider contacting the Accountant in Bankruptcy or the IP's professional body (probably ICAS or IPA) and asking them to look into it. Maybe that would hurry things along.

Thank you all very much for your advice!

I will keep you posted!

Hi Liana

Good luck. I think Kevin's correct and it may be that you should contact the authorising body to look into this matter.

Mark