I could only say that I hope that they've learnt from their mistakes.....As with all companies in the "industry" as long as you are clear on your course of action and what is expected of you, and that you have all of your expectations in writing then everything should be fine. As long as your TD is straightforward with no complications and if there are complications that you are sure that they have been addressed in a manner which you both agree on, then everything should be fine. Good Luck, the 3 years will fly by 🙂

Hi Steve027,

Welcome to the forum and well done for taking positive steps to deal with your debts.

Have you had a meeting with a qualified debt advisor from KPMG to discuss your situation in full to see what options you have available? That's always the first thing that we would suggest doing. This can take place in your home, their office or any other place you feel comfortable meeting. You should have discussed a Trust Deed, Debt Arrangement Scheme and also Sequestration.

You ideally want to sit down with an advisor or a number of advisors, work though your financial situation very thoroughly and explore all of your options. Once you have done this you want to make sure that you receive everything in writing from what will happen to your house or any assets that you have, how much your payments per month are and also how long your Trust Deed will last i.e. 3, 4 or 5 years. Normally Trust Deeds last for 3 years.

Can you give us an idea of your situation Steve027 i.e. what assets you have, your level of debt and how much money per month you feel you could pay towards a Trust Deed and we can give you some advice.

The positive thing is that you have solutions to deal with your debts.

I think it is only natural to be hesitant, Steve027. The firm you mention are a big one and it is inevitable that they will have some good reviews and some bad.

The most important thing is to take your time and make sure that any details you are not sure about are fully explained. Talk to another firm too if you wish - that way you can make a comparison and choose which one suits you best.

I have had a lot of problems with my trust deed with KPMG - mainly due to poor communication. If you do go with them, make sure you have everything in writing, eg equity, overtime, salary changes, any change in circumstances etc. Their fees do seem to be astronomical compared to the firms recommended on here. If you haven't signed might be worth chatting with one of them to get another firm to compare before signing, I wish I had

It's a good point you make fcwalker regarding speaking with a number of advisors/firms to discuss things as this will then allow everything to be compared. In society now we live in a ÔÇ£comparisonÔÇØ world with the likes of moneysupermarket, comparethemarket, gocompare and other comparison websites.

As you say different things can vary from firm to firm. It can be the big things like the level of fees that a firm charges that can really vary and cost a client more money per month to cover this. It can also be how they handle assets i.e. property or vehicles or how they treat overtime and also bonuses. For example the firms on this site don't charge £500 to protect a property but there are others that do.

It can also be the little things like dealing with the same advisor that you meet with from that initial meeting right through to the conclusion of your case which allows you to build that relationship up with your advisor and can also provide for good communication which is key. I always look at it on the basis that if someone decides to proceed with a Trust Deed, DAS or Sequestration, they are trusting that advisor to deal with a very important issue in their life and customer service and communication is key to that.

Only by speaking with different firms can you have a feel for all of the above. I think the main thing is you need to be confident and comfortable in the firm/advisor that you choose and most importantly receive everything in writing.

I am 16 months into TD with KPMG and I have to say I haven't had any issues so far.

Although it was set up against the advice I've since found on here - it was a phone call I received after completing an online enquiry about debt advice, it was all arranged by phone and email and they sent a representative to my home to sign paperwork therefore I've never met anyone from KPMG.

At the time it sounded like a solution to my problems and I admit I didn't do my research before agreeing and signing so hopefully I won't have any problems as a result of this.

Having said that if I call or email I get to speak to someone or a response quickly.
They also started looking into PPI after 1st annual review and so hopefully once I've paid my 36th payment everything should be easy at the end.

I feel mine is a straight forward case as it's only my income which is highly unlikely to change, I don't have a car or own property so I didn't really have any what ifs to think about when agreeing the terms.

Although I think it would have been better to have more information about Trust Deeds and the different firms I still feel it was the best choice I made in order to address my debt

Welcome to the forum Steve027.

From the perspective of the site we don't make comment about firms other than the four that we choose to recommend (represented here by Mark, Kevin, David and Rob). They've all had good feedback from visitors to the site that have gone on to use them, though we're not in any way saying that they're the only good firms out there.

Good luck with your choice. It is important and it does make a difference. I can see that you've already been given a lot of useful pointers from other contributors to this thread on how to go about making a decision that you're confident will be the right one.

I've got 9 payments to go with KPMG. I've got a fairly uncomplicated trust deed so haven't had any real hassle with them. However, my TD is over 42 months and it would seem that it could have been over 36 months if I had gone with another firm. It would seem that the extra 6 months is down to the very large fees they charge.

My husband & i received our form 5 from KPMG in December 2012. They have still not discharged themselves. We filled in forms 2 years ago for them to check for PPI & claims were paid out to them over 1 year ago, so don't know what the hold up is in discharging themselves. We made final payments to TD in July 2012 & it took them 5 months to issue us with form 5 after numerous phone calls to their office. Our TD were over 39 months but we thought they were only to be over 36 as no complications or assets. Good luck with choosing a company

Hi upstream,

That can be a big factor in why we suggest speaking with a number of firms as fees can mean a higher payment per month or an extension of the term to cover the costs.

I met with a client recently who had been advised that their Trust Deed had to be over 4 years because of the fees relating to the Trust Deed. I was able to set the Trust Deed up for the client over a 3 year period not because our fees are lower than everyone else's but because the particular companies fees were higher than most others. I Would point out that the company in question was not KMPG.

With 9 payments to go upsteam the end is in sight.

Hi everyone thanks for your replies. I haven't actually signed anything yet but have gone through everything and a trust deed certainly sounds like my best way out of a mess that I have managed to create. I'll go into more depth when I get home from work and maybe get some better advice from an expert on here. The more I read online the more I realise I'm not the only 1 out there having these difficulties. Just wish I had done something a lot earlier.
Thanks again guys

That's a sentiment I have heard a thousand times! I guess it is inevitable that people will invariably try and soldier on for as long as possible in the hope that things will improve. There's certainly no shame in that, but unfortunately in most cases it is just delaying the inevitable - best to face up to it and get it sorted out rather than put yourself through the mill first.

There is no rush to enter into anything Steve027. The only thing you need to be mindful of is that there is a change to the legislation due on the 28th November which increases the minimum period for a Trust Deed from 3 years to 4 years.

Take your time, speak with a number of advisors and then when you feel comfortable proceed with things.

As you have now seen, there are more people than you think who are in Trust Deed's and are financially struggling. I can visit the same street over and over again once word gets around about Trust Deeds and the available debt options. You'd be surprised how many people are struggling with debts. As Kevin said, most people struggle on and eventually there comes a point when they start looking for help.

Good luck with everything and I'm sure before you know it you will be back on telling us you have 6 months to go and asking what happens next!

quote:

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Originally posted by David Tannock

With 9 payments to go upsteam the end is in sight.

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Single digits. Never thought I'd see it at the start!