Hi CarolAnne

It is always difficult to comment on other firms, however from the points raised, the payment and time period should have been discussed and agreed at the start and should not be open to the Trustee extending this for no reason. If you have a copy of the Trust Deed then it should state the time period. Do you know if you signed the Trust Deed?

Some firms charge £500 for property where there is no equity, although non on this forum do. I am unsure which website you checked as age has no bearing on this.

As for the company being legitimate, I understand that Trust Deed Scotland pass cases to Knightsbridge who are licenced Insolvency Practitioners.

Mark

Hi CaroleAnne31,

I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties you are having in relation to your Trust Deed. A Trust Deed should provide debt relief and stop the stress of worrying about the debts and give you a light at the end of the tunnel.

How much did you agree to pay to the Trust Deed and do you feel that you can afford to continue with payments for the duration?

Trust Deed's can last between 3, 4 and 5 years. The timescale is determined normally by how much someone can afford to pay per month. This payment has to be enough to cover the costs of the administration of the Trust Deed and also return a certain percentage in order that the creditors will accept the proposal.

As Mark said the £500 is charged by some firms not to revisit the equity during or at the end of the Trust Deed. A valuation and redemption figure for your mortgage should have been obtained to ensure that your property did not have any equity. Do you know if this was done at the start?

If you are still receiving letters from your creditors you should contact your relationship manager who should be happy to send out paperwork to those creditors advising that you are in a Trust Deed.

Hi there,

Thanks for both of your replys.

I signed the paperwork that stated the longer term as I felt by then it was too late to turn back. Although I am relieved to hear that Knightsbridge are ligitimate.

In regards to the property fee - no valuation was taken for my property. I did give them my annual mortgage statement though. I've had a look at some other posts hear and can see some people havent paid it at the beginning but when changing their mind later down the line this fee has massively changed. I had looked at equity release online and it seemed to be aimed at people over 60, which got me wondering if the company were just trying to squeeze more money out of me. I think from what your saying and what I've read on this site, its probalby best just to pay it and get that out the way.

My trust deed payment is £204. Once I get my salary each month and have paid all my basic bills, I'm left with £100 for food & my months bus pass. Of course its better than my previous situation but still doesnt give me much to live off. I'm sure things will get better slowly.

I have forwarded the letters ive received from my creditors to the trust deed company, but havent had any response or acknowledgement back which concerned me a little.

Thanks for your help, I do feel more relaxed about it already.

Re the term and payment being agreed. I was under the impression with Trust Deed Scotland that it had been agreed by them for 3 years at £204 so was shocked when i received the paperwork from Knightsbridge. Trust deed scotland "assured" me it wouldnt be longer. The amount of hassle I had to go through in my work was awful and resulted in two disciplinary meetings and my job being restricted. I was made redundant from my previous job which was the reason I had to enter the trust deed.

Anyway when I questioned the length of term with Knightsbridge they told me it was down to my main creditor increasing the amount they wanted back which ment it had to be over a longer term. Does this sound right?

Hi CarolAnne31

In 26 years, I have never had a creditor ask or even suggest that a contribution be increased as it is not their position to do this.

It looks as through the proposal may have been rejected as the dividend did not reach the required taget and the IP has taken it upon themselves to extend the period to have it accepted.

Who was the biggest creditor as a matter of interest?

Mark

It was Nationwide. I owed £5k to them and was told that Barclays (who I only owed £800 to) was also part of nationwide ?? to due this it made them my biggest creditor. Knighstbridge told me because of this Nationwide extended the term. I've never heard of Barclays and nationwide being in partnership so thought this was a bit strange.

Hi CaroleAnne31.

It sounds like there's some confusion over a link between Barclays and Nationwide.

It will not be Nationwide that extended the term. Your trustee suggested the extended term, which you then agreed to when you signed the trust deed.

It might be that an extension was required to meet Nationwide's expectations, it might be that it was related to the fees that you're being charged for the trust deed, or it might be a combination of the two.

Right ok. They told me it was Nationwides decision. Either way i feel much happier now that i came across this forum. Its put mind a bit more at ease with everything.

Thanks for all your comments. It has been very helpful.

Hi CaroleAnne31,

I'm glad that the forum has been able to make you feel a little better about your situation.

When was it agreed that you would pay over the £500 nominal sum payment to discharge the Trustees interest in this? Was this to be paid over at the beginning, during or at the end of your Trust Deed?

This £500 is another interesting point as it would need to be paid either at the end after the contributions had ceased or from a third party and you could not be seen to be able to afford a £500 payment while in the Trust Deed. This, on the face of it, would be looked on as an enhanced contribution.

Mark

Nationwide and Barclays aren't connected as far as I am aware, but they do have the same agency working on their behalf to deal with trust deed proposals. They have slightly different criteria to most of the other main banks and it sounds like the change to your term was needed in order to pay in enough to keep them happy and therefore get your trust deed protected.

This in itself is not that unusual. My concern would be the affordability of a trust deed for you, especially over such a long period. Was sequestration not explained to you as an option?