Hi andantelargo,

It sounds like things are pretty stressful for you at the moment.

The positive thing that I tell everyone is that you will have a solution to help you deal with your debts and regain control over things.

You could consider a Trust Deed, Debt Arrangement Scheme or Sequestration. Each of these options have pros and cons and by sitting down with a qualified advisor to discuss all of these options and your particular set of circumstances you will be able to work out what option best suits you.

When you are only making the minimum payments it's difficult to try and see a light at the end of the tunnel. The 3 options I've mentioned above all provide you with a fixed timescale, a fixed payment per month and light at the end of the tunnel to work towards.

When you say you have a student loan, is this to the Student Loan Company or SAAS?

Also, your flat, is this rented or down you own this? Do you have any other assets?

Sorry for firing questions are you but these will help us to better understand your situation.

The most important thing is that whichever option you proceed with, you receive everything in writing with regards to how the plan will work i.e. the payment per month, the timescale and what could happen to any assets that you have.

As I said at the start, try to remain positive as you have solutions available to help you deal with your debts.

Hi David,

Thanks very much for your reply and your reassurance.

I rent my flat and have no assets of greater worth than £3000. I don't own a car.

My student loan was sold by the Student Loan Company to a 3rd party called Erudio Loans...a rather aggressive company. I'm currently in deferment with an outstanding balance in arrears, I'm paying them a minimum sum every month to stall any action on their part.

At the moment my disposable income is less than £100 per month. I'm a good juggler with money but it's starting to get a bit scary.

Hi andantelargo.

One of the key tasks that a debt adviser performs is to run through your income and expenditure with you.

It's a way of measuring how much you reasonably need to live (excluding non-priority debt repayments). This sum of money is prioritised, then it can be assumed that the remainder is truly available to repay to creditors (barring emergencies) on a monthly basis.

I think running through this exercise with a qualified debt adviser will be very important for you. By the end of it you'll know whether carrying on as you are is viable, or whether steps need to be taken to tackle what has become a financial problem.

The amount of money available to repay creditors will also be a key factor in advising you which debt solutions might best fit your needs and how they would work in practice for you.

quote:

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Originally posted by Trust Deed Assistant
[br]Hi andantelargo.

One of the key tasks that a debt adviser performs is to run through your income and expenditure with you.

It's a way of measuring how much you reasonably need to live (excluding non-priority debt repayments). This sum of money is prioritised, then it can be assumed that the remainder is truly available to repay to creditors (barring emergencies) on a monthly basis.

I think running through this exercise with a qualified debt adviser will be very important for you. By the end of it you'll know whether carrying on as you are is viable, or whether steps need to be taken to tackle what has become a financial problem.

The amount of money available to repay creditors will also be a key factor in advising you which debt solutions might best fit your needs and how they would work in practice for you.

---

Many thanks for your reply. Is there a recommended advisory service in Glasgow?

Hi,

As TDA has advised the first thing that needs to be done is working through a very thorough income and expenditure to work out what your disposable income is.

Under a Trust Deed creditors are required to accept the proposal and as a result there is normally a minimum criteria to try and work with and therefore a minimum payment per month that someone will need to pay.

It could be the case that based on your affordability Sequestration (Bankruptcy) is one of the more suitable options if you are unable to afford a payment which would meet the minimum criteria under a Trust Deed.

Under Sequestration creditors are not required to accept the proposal and therefore there isn't a minimum criteria to try and work towards. A thorough income and expenditure would be completed with you to determine what you could afford to pay per month. If after this it turns out that all you can afford it £50 per month then that's all you would be for 3 years.

Who do you have a loan with and who are your credit cards with?

Hi again andantelargo.

This site recommends three insolvency advisory firms, each represented here in the forum by David, Mark and Kevin. David and Mark are both based in Glasgow. Kevin is based in Edinburgh but covers the whole of Scotland from there.

You also have the option to approach free-sector sources of advice, such as the Money Advisers at Citizens Advice for example.

quote:

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Originally posted by David Tannock
[br]Hi,

As TDA has advised the first thing that needs to be done is working through a very thorough income and expenditure to work out what your disposable income is.

Under a Trust Deed creditors are required to accept the proposal and as a result there is normally a minimum criteria to try and work with and therefore a minimum payment per month that someone will need to pay.

It could be the case that based on your affordability Sequestration (Bankruptcy) is one of the more suitable options if you are unable to afford a payment which would meet the minimum criteria under a Trust Deed.

Under Sequestration creditors are not required to accept the proposal and therefore there isn't a minimum criteria to try and work towards. A thorough income and expenditure would be completed with you to determine what you could afford to pay per month. If after this it turns out that all you can afford it £50 per month then that's all you would be for 3 years.

Who do you have a loan with and who are your credit cards with?

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Hi David,

I have my loan and 2 x CC's with the Bank of Scotland and my other credit card is with Vanquis.

Thanks.

Hi andantelargo

Your creditors are all standard creditors to be honest. If you were looking at the Trust Deed as an option, then there would be a set criteria to meet to gain creditors acceptance.

This would not be an issue if sequestration was the preferred route as there is no requirement for creditors to agree.

As mentioned above, this will probably all come down to a review of income/expenditure to calculate any surplus income.

Mark

Hi andantelargo,

Those are standard companies which I deal with on a daily basis. Some creditors can have a strict acceptance criteria for Trust Deeds which can sometimes make a Trust Deed proposal a little tricky. Those creditors are pretty flexible and not ones that cause problems.

What you need to balance up is the pros and cons of all of the options but also how much each option will cost you in terms of what you will repay and how long each plan will last for. Focus on what's important for you.

There isn't any rush to do anything so take your time, do a little research yourself and then speak with a couple of qualified advisors about your situation. By doing this you can then decide what to do. On another thread this morning lightbodyae55 had spoken with someone about a Trust Deed and thought that it may be the best way to go. By doing their own research it actually turns out that Sequestration is the most appropriate solution for them.

It may not feel like it at the moment, given the stress that this situation is causing you, but I am certain that there is a very straightforward and affordable solution for you, andantelargo (a very musical name??)

As others have said, which solution that is will largely be determined by your budget and what you can afford to repay towards your debts.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kevin Mapstone
[br]It may not feel like it at the moment, given the stress that this situation is causing you, but I am certain that there is a very straightforward and affordable solution for you, andantelargo (a very musical name??)

As others have said, which solution that is will largely be determined by your budget and what you can afford to repay towards your debts.

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Hi Kevin, I had been sitting reading my sheet music and playing, I took a break and money came back into my mind, and here I am. Classical guitar is all I do when I'm not working 🙂

I've actually been in touch with one of the recommend firms on the site since posting and I'm looking forward to see what can be done from here. It's the first element of hope I've had for a while so I'm happier just for taking the first step.

Thanks to everyone who posted, much appreciated.

Ah! that explains the username. Always curious on the origins of usernames.

Glad you have taken the 1st step and I'm sure it will all work out. Once you take away the unknowns and know exactly how things will be dealt with, it makes things far easier.

Mark