Hi Keith and welcome to the forum,

Can you tell us a little bit more about your situation. Can you tell us how much debt you have, your employment status and if you have any assets. From this information we will be able to provide you with some more advice and information.

Hi Keith.
Welcome to the forum.
For my own part I am only five months away from the completion of my trust deed and if I can put your mind at rest, coming on here is so therapeutic. It is so comforting to know that there are others on here in the same position as yourself and who aren't afraid to come on and offer advice or answer what you might think are stupid questions you may have, but actually aren't.
You will also notice the likes of Mark and Kevin etc who are also on hand with sound advice and answers in their roles as financial advisors specialising in trust deeds, so really, there is no need for trepidation with so many people here to help you out whenever you feel the need to come on.
For me personally, I couldn't have done without this site for the last 31 months and I am sure I will have more questions to ask before my remaining 5 months are up !

Hi Keith

I think everyone feels like that at the stage you're at but by acknowledging you need hep in dealing with your debts is the first step.
I wish I had found this forum before signing as I may have done things differently, however deciding to enter into a Trust Deed has been the best thing I have done and a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I would keep looking through here as you will find lots of information and when you feel ready maybe contact one of the firms recommended on this site as I have only read positive things about them.

Welcome Keith.

It's the mixture of experts and people who have been in the same position as yourself that makes this site special I think. I can't think of anywhere else that you can such support from all sides.

Well done on taking the first step - usually the hardest part. Everybody on here will be keen to help with sound advice and you can move things forward at your own speed.

As David said, if you wish to share a bit more with us about your situation then we can try and help you to take that next step and assess your options.

Hey Keith,

You've done the hardest part, for me anyway, the most difficult bit was admitting that I needed help, and that I was insolvent. This site is a great source of help and comfort, and remember, there are 1000's of us in the same boat.

R

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the replies, I hadn't realised you had been posting.
I haven't totalled everything up yet, I just know that we have almost as much money going out in bad debt every month than money coming in. Which isnt leaving very much for living. If I was to pull a figure out of the air, I would say we are in the red by about 35000, my wife and I bring home about 34000 between us per year.
Some of the debt is in joint name some in mine and some in my wife's name.

My wife has spoken to trust deed Scotland briefly so far this recently, but I put her off from going any further, as I don't see them on the reccomended list on this site.

The answer is yes. The question was do I need help?
We have no assests, apart from the car which is not worth very much anyway, our home is rented, we don't even have much expensive furniture, apart from the couch. That's still on hp.

I'm glad I found this forum and I look forward to hearing from you
Keith

Hi Keith,

There are a number of different companies that you can use to provide you with debt advice and then assist with a Trust Deed, Debt Arrangement Scheme or Sequestration. Every company and advisor is different and the level of customer service can vary from firm to firm.

You need to use a company which you feel comfortable with and also an advisor that you trust. By speaking with a number of firms and advisors you will be able to get a feeling for who you trust and who you would like to use to assist you in becoming debt free. You also want to ensure you get absolutely everything in writing from how much you payments are, how long for and what will happen to any assets that you have which I see isn't really any that I would be concerned with. That way there will be no surprises through your plan.

If you have debts in the region of £35,000 then I think it would be a good idea to sit down with an advisor in person and discuss all of your options to assist you in dealing with your debts. As you don't have any significant assets then you do have a number of options available. These could be a Trust Deed, Debt Arrangement Scheme or Sequestration. By sitting down in person with a good knowledgeable advisor you will be able to work through all the options and then decide which one you feel best suits your circumstances.

Your furniture is not something that is looked at so please don't worry about this. If your car is worth less than £3,000 then it's not taken into consideration.

You want to try and work out your income and expenditure to establish what you feel you can afford to pay to a plan per month. You want to total what you living costs are i.e. rent, council tax, utilities, food etc separately from what your debt payments are is if you enter into a plan you would stop paying these. You can either do this or work through this with an advisor.

I would try not to worry too much as you do have options available to both you and your wife to deal with your debts and that's the positive thing.

Hi Keith

It's difficult to comment on best options as a lot will depend on the split of the debts and what you consider to be a reasonable surplus income.

It may be that the trust deed is an option for you both or even DAS or a bit of a mix and match depending on circumstances.

As you say, the car and house are not an issue, so it will probably boil down to a review of income and expenditure and creditors as this would give a clearer indication of what option/s best suit.

Mark

Good to hear from you again Keith.

You may well have a few options here and any good adviser would ask a lot of questions to clarify your situation, set out each of the options for you, answer any questions you have and generally make sure that you are well-informed enough so that you can decide for yourself what your preferred route would be. I always feel that this is much better done with at least one face-to-face meeting - it's too important to be left to a couple of phone calls and you need to feel comfortable with whoever you might decide to choose for help.

From the details you've provided, a trust deed (or two) may well be a suitable. However, we shouldn't put the cart before the horse and I would certainly recommend that you sit down with an expert and explore all of your options.

Sitting down with an advisor is probably not going to be possible. Since we live in shetland, I expect there won't be many companies willing to fly someone up here, so the whole thing will need to be done over the phone.

Has anyone had any dealings with trust dead Scotland?
Should I just ring around a few companies, do I need to have accurate figures before I start?
Are there any companies that open after 5oclock.

Hi Keith,

Shetland will be a little bit difficult for a personal visit. It's not unusual to just discuss things over the phone depending on someone's location but I think all the experts on the forum prefer to do a personal visit where possible. Do you have Skye? Or an iPad which you can use to do a video chat with. It's the closest thing to a personal visit and we sometimes do this for clients.

You need a rough idea what your debts are and also your income and expenditure is but a good advisor will be able to work through this with you.

I'm not sure about others companies but I'm available 7 days a weeks right up until 9pm to speak with clients. I think the other experts on the forum are the same as that. Our job isn't really a 9-5pm one as most of our clients work and it's difficult to speak with someone when they are at work.

I would speak with a couple of advisors and then take it from there. Have a look on the forum for feedback on different firms and different peoples experiences. You want an advisor that will handle your case from start to finish that way you build up a trusting relationship with them. I always look at it like I'm dealing with a very important part of someone's life and I want to make it as easy and painless as possible after all your placing a hell for a lot of trust in an advisor.

Thanks David, 9 o'clock is great, we usually get the wee man to bed by eight. So if its ok i'll maybe give you a call some evening once I get my figures worked out .

Thanks David, 9 o'clock is great, we usually get the wee man to bed by eight. So if its ok i'll maybe give you a call some evening once I get my figures worked out .

Hi Keith, if you want to give me a call and speak with me about your situation then just click on the "contact David" tab.

I usually get my we man down around 8pm providing he's not full of carry on so 9ish works for me.