Yes a desk top exercise was carried out to determine the equity which has been included when calculating what my monthly payment would be. I have also been advised since this was done at the outset it cannot be revisited. I have met with my adviser twice now so I am at the stage of getting "clean" bank statements to them hence why I estimate the time it may take. I have opened a new account and switched direct debits etc so just waiting for this "normal" activity to show so things can move forward. 24 hours does sound very attractive, however, I deal with your firm in a professional capacity and I am trying to keep this as anonymous as possible as it is so very very out of character of me to find myself here. If I can retain anonymity I would consider a quicker option though.

Hi silly,

I'd be happy to have an initial chat with you completely confidential between you and I to see if this is something which I can help with. You can then explain to me in what capacity you deal with us.

If you want to reach out to me just click the contact me button and I can arrange to give you a call to have a quick chat.

Had a meeting with David tonight and now feeling very positive about the situation. His advice is invaluable. Now taking the necessary steps to implement a solution. Thank you David.

Good for you silly.

It's great to hear that things are moving forwards for you.

Hi Silly,

Thanks for coming back onto the forum to post an update about your situation and our meeting.

I’m glad I’ve been able to help you deal with your debts in a positive way and also reassure you about everything.

Hi. I am new here. Struggling with debt (new debts due to gambling). Stepchange recommend Trust Deed but, from what I am reading here, are you saying you need to wait about 3 months till no gambling showing on bank statements? I have just this month missed payments to creditors, wrote to them asking for breathing space but need to decide if Sequestration best (no assets or anything, just about to move into rented house so if TR is going to be rejected dont want to waste time if bankruptcy best).

Hi Dell2u and welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear that you are finding yourself struggling.

You don't need to wait 3 months for clear bank statements. You proceed with a Trust Deed right now if it's a suitable option.

As an advisor when I meet with someone who has a gambling addiction I try to assess how positively they are dealing with things. Waiting 3 months for cleared bank statements can be a way of showing that your not gambling but to wait 3 months when you are worried can be a long time.

The best thing to do is reach out to a qualified expert such as Kevin or I the experts on the forum. We could meet with you in person to discuss your circumstances and advise which options you have available and if a Trust Deed would be accepted.

As you have already mentioned you could also consider Seauestration.

Is there anything that your particularly worried about?

Also, how much debt do you have and can you tell us who you owe the money to?

Thanks for quick response. Here are my debts etc. As I said most are recent and 90% due to gambling

DEBTS
Barclays £3778 (CC) RECENT MAY 2017
Lending stream £425 (payday) RECENT MAY/JUNE 2017
Santander £8900 (loan) RECENT MAY 2017
Vanquis £2364 (CC)
Aqua £2387 (CC)
MBNA £4818 (CC) RECENT MAY 2017
Virgin £40(CC) RECENT APRIL 2017
Very £310 (catalogue)
Sainsburys £583 (loan) @£116/month till Oct
Tesco £822 (loan) @ £102/month till Feb
Santander £750 (overdraft)
RBS£200 (overdraft)

INCOME £1630 (includes £75 board from student son)
HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE £1373 (not including debts)
Surplus income = £257

Hi Dell2u,

Sorry for the quick first response and then the delayed second. Just out from a home visit would a client.

In terms of your situation and dealing with your debts you do have a couple of options available. When it comes to a Trust Deed it's ultimately a proposal which the lenders can either accept or reject. The gambling and recent account opening could be a reason for them to reject the proposal but in my experience lenders have been ok in other cases I've dealt I with.

What would your preferred option be?

I think the best thing to do is to reach out to an expert for specific advice about your situation. Kevin or I would be happy to help you with this and discuss things in more detail with you if you wanted.

I was resigned to sequestration, and no doubt having to make contributions due to nature of debt. My income is unlikely to change much over next 4 years. Was thinking TD would be easier to set up with no scary OR interviews but risk of refusal by creditors and less flexible if for some reason I lost/left job. Sequestration appears much more official and but creditors unable to do anything if it goes through. Unknown quantities are for how long any restrictions would last...
As I said I'm in process of moving to rented house so by end August will have accurate figures for household expenditure. Staying at mums just now but had to stop paying debtors to get deposit for tenancy and will need next salary to furnish house. So in September I really need to know what option to go for.

Hi Dell,

There is nothing to be intimidated by regarding Sequestration. It's actually a lot more simple and straight forward than you would think.

In terms of entering into Sequestration, it's simply an application form that is completed with you and this is something that Kevin or I would complete on your behalf. We require three months bank statements and payslips and evidence of your bills. This is the same information that is required for a Trust Deed so it's similar.

Once we have all of that information we then electronically submit this to the Accountant in Bankruptcy who then review and award the Sequestration and pass your case back to us to administer. There is no court involvement so don't worry about that.

A Trust Deed can be pretty flexible when it comes to a change in circumstances or a loss of a job. We need to factor these things in as people's circumstances do change during the course.

I know you say you will need to wait until September but actually you could start the process now, go over everything with an expert and possibly even enter into a plan taking into account the future changes and your payment based on this.

Ultimately the restrictions are similar both in a Trust Deed / Sequestration. One difference is you can't be a director of a limited company until your discharge from Sequestration whereas with a Trust Deed you can. Also If you inherit or acquire any assets then these would be ingathered into either plan. We can cover all of this on a lot more detail with you.

If you would rather a Trust Deed then you can apply for this and if it's accepted then great. If not and the lenders reject it then you can fall back on Sequestration.

The positive solution in all of this is you have a number of options available to help you deal with your debts.

Thanks so much for info. I guess the issue for me is how long i may need to make repayments and that may be an unknown quantity until I am some way through sequestration process. Is it more fixed under a Trust Deed or can it be extended beyond 3-4 years too?

Also I am assuming that my creditors will get less money under a Trust Deed, since there are fees to be deducted from monthly payments.... but the actual amount I would pay wouldnt change so this is not an issue for me (but may affect whether creditors accept or reject a Trust Deed)?

As I say, I'm moving into house on 1st August so will be able to provide more accurate figures for expenditure then, once utilities etc set up. At moment I am estimating. Also my son will have exam results which will determine if he goes to college. If he does go to college then he gets student bursary/loan and pays me board, or he returns to school and no board payment but I then get Child Benefit again for him, similar amount @£80/month. However, does this get used as income, as I thought I read somewhere that benefits can be included for repayments. If this is case then I would have even less money to repay creditors which means they are less likely to accept Trust Deed....?

Hi Dell2u.

Repayments in sequestration (if they're affordable) will last for four years.

A trust deed will run for a minimum of four years, with the expected term agreed in advance. It could be extended in certain circumstances, for example if you fell behind on the payments which were due.

There are fees taken from your contributions in both trust deeds and sequestration. I don't think it makes much difference to your creditors.

The major creditors set acceptance criteria for trust deeds, about which trustees who handle this type of work are very well aware. As such, a trustee is likely to be able to give you a pretty reliable expectation as to whether your trust deed will be readily acceptable to creditors, or whether there might be some challenges.

All income is taken into account as income when working out what you can pay. However, the trustee cannot ask for a contribution that is greater than your non-benefit income. So, if you had a job paying £200 per month and the rest of your income was made up of benefits, the most you could be asked to pay would be £200.