Hi Tom,

I think you are doing the right thing by anticipating things might become difficult further down the line.

To proceed with a Trust Deed you will need to have the following information available:

1. x3 months bank statements;
2. x3 months payslips;
3. Tenancy agreement;
4. Identification;
5. Creditor statements;
6. Details of any assets you own.

Your employer shouldn’t find out about it unless they look at the Register of Insolvencies which is extremely unlikely. The only other reason that your employer would find out is if you failed to co-operate and maintain your payments. In this scenario the Trustee can ask for your payments to be deducted straight from source.

In terms of setting up a Trust Deed this can be done pretty quick. Sometimes I have spoken with a client in the morning and then met them in the afternoon to sign the paperwork.

Who is it you bank with? Normally you don’t need to chance bank accounts if you don’t have any debt with the bank that you bank with.

In terms of your situation, do you own any assets such as a house/car and how much debt do you have?

Also, what is it that makes you think Trust Deed? Have you considered alternative options?

Finally if your BH doesn’t have an income after xmas and you are responsible for all of the household bills do you think you could afford to pay a payment per month to a plan?

Hi David, thanks so much for your quick reply. Yeah I'll ne responsible for all the bills in the new year. That is also when we plan to move in together. It's a council house so it's not an asset. I feel like I'm putting a brave fave on at the moment, just for my BH and her kids sake, I feel it's quite demasculating not being able to look after your family, and it's affecting my sleep, my mood, even my health, my BP is through the roof. Anyway I digress. I bank with the Clydesdale bank, and I reckon my total debt is around £24000 I don't drive do my only asset is some money I have in the credit union, which will be wiped out after Xmas. I know no one is here to judge but I was discharged from a trust deed in 2009, can't believe I'm back to square 1 again

Kind regards
Tom

It can easily happen, Tom - and often does - so don't beat yourself up about it.

Clydesdale aren't usually a problem as long as you don't owe anything to them, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about on that score.

Hi Tom,

Don't worry about the Trust Deed back in 2009. It's a lot more common than you think and it happens for a variety of reasons. Our job is to help you get out of debt and focus on the future and like you say, no judgement here.

As you will eventually be the only person with an income when it comes to paying all of the bills do you think you will have any money left over to pay towards a plan? A good knowledgable expert can go over a budget with you to see what this might be taking into consideration the change in circumstances come Christmas.

Of the £24,000 of debt, who are the ones you owe the most to? Do you owe any money to Barclaycard?

From what you say about sleepless nights and blood pressure it might be a good idea to speak with an Expert sooner rather than later that way you can start to feel like there is a plan in place and it's then up to you to decide when you proceed. You could proceed now or you could wait. This might help health wise.

I say this all the time but try to remain positive as you have solutions to help you deal with the debts and you will receive plenty of advice, help and support on the forum.

Thanks Kevin, that's reassuring, I have a very small over draft with the Clydesdale but only around £100.

David you are probably right about seekeing help sooner rather than later. I'm not 100% sure of the rules but if I initiate the trust deed whilst staying in my current flat can I seemlessly move into my BH's flat without affecting my trust deed. The rent for her place is more expensive than mine so it's not like I'm cheating them out of money that way. I'm confident I can afford a trust deed on my wage alone, hopefully , my BF will get another job in the new year. I have a Barclays credit card with about£6500 on it......... why do you ask? Are they really hard to deal with with stuff like this?

Kind regards
Tom

Hi Tom,

You can enter a Trust Deed now and then move house at Christmas time. All of this can be taken into consideration when looking at your budget and ability to make a monthly payment. That would probably be the best route to take that way your health issues will stabilise and a new year new you kind of thing.

Barclaycard can be problematic in a Trust Deed due to the level of fee they allow a Trustee to charge. If they have a third of your total debt balance they could object which could cause problems. They have 27% of your total debt so I don't think there will be a problem. A good knowledgable expert advisor can give you good advice and reassurance regarding this.

It could even be possible that by Christmas time you have been in a Trust Deed which is fully accepted and protected.

How much do you think you could afford to pay per month to a plan?

Do you owe money to the Credit Union too, Tom? If so how much?

I ask because if you were to go into a Trust Deed just now then they would be likely to offset your savings against any debt you have with them.

Hi guys

(Can't thank you enough for all the info by the way). Now my credit union will be back to zero balance after I take out whatever is in it to put towards Christmas for the kids, so that's not an issue. I've done a rough estimate of my monthly outgoings after the move and I reckon I could pay between £200-250, do you think that will be enough for the creditors to accept? Especially Barclay card, why are the so difficult to deal with? Surely getting back somthing is better than getting back nothing at all? Would you recommend while my credit rating is still good, taking out a new card to transfer my Barclays balance to, or taking out a loan to pay it off?

Honestly can't thank you guys enough for the advice
Tom

Hi Tom,

Your welcome. Are you feeling any better about things?

The main issue with Barclaycard is they restrict the fee which a Trustee can charge to administer the Trust Deed. Sometimes this fee becomes problematic and therefore not cost effective for firms to administer a Trust Deed.

I wouldn’t balance transfer the Barclaycard debt to another lender as that lender could then decide to object on the basis you only opened the account 1-2 months ago. I would just leave it as is with Barclaycard as their debt isn’t a third of your total debt so there shouldn’t be any issues.

A payment around £200 per month should be sufficient for the creditors to accept but I couldn’t confirm that with you until I had worked through a very thorough income and expenditure. Another factor which lenders consider when deciding about a Trust Deed proposal is your income and expenditure and if it’s excessive in accordance with the Common Financial Statement. You also need to ensure that any payment which you pay is sustainable. This is where a good Expert is key as they will take into account all of your expenditure items that you might not necessarily have thought about.

The other option to think about is the Debt Arrangement Scheme but paying £250 per month for £24,000 of debt would take you 8 years so double the time of the 4 year Trust Deed.

From everything that you have told us I think there is a good chance of being able to set up a Trust Deed without any problems. My advice now would be to reach out to an Expert sooner rather than later, go over everything and like I said you could be in a fully protected Trust Deed by Christmas.

Thanks David, you've really took a load off my mind, you guys are saints for doing this for free. Is there a particular firm that you would recommend going forward?

Many thanks
Tom

Hi Tom,

Good I’m glad to hear you are feeling a bit better about things.

There are a lot of good firms that can assist you with debt advice and help set up a plan for you.

Kevin and I are the two experts on the forum. If you wanted one of us to help you can reach out to us by clicking the contact me button below our posts.

David that's great, are you based in Glasgow? Not an issue if you arnt but it's just so I know where I'll be bringing my documents etc for you to look at. Also, will the final monthly payment we agree on be based on my basic contractual wage, I only ask because the last few months I've been really hammering the overtime, which is drying up now as we take more staff on. So my last few wage slips arnt a true reflection of my ordinary wage. But it's all there in black and white on the wage slip

Regards
Tom

Hi Tom,

Yes, our office is in Glasgow City Centre but I cover the whole of Scotland so if a home visit is easier I can facilitate that.

Your monthly payment and income is always based on affordability. If you’ve been racking up the overtime in the last couple of months we can look further back at your payslips to get a more realistic figure on what your average monthly income is. We could look back over a 12 month period for example. I’m experienced in doing this so it’s not something you should be worried about.

David I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders just by chatting to you. I'm gonny dig out all my documents over the next few days, then get you over for a coffee to go through them if that's ok with you. I'll give you a call , if not at the end of this week then definitely next week.

Thanks so much
Tom