Hello I have been reading a lot about the DAS and trust deed and I feel like I really want to go for the DAS and repay all my creditors back however, I’m worried if the DAS does not get accepted- in this case what would happen then? Is the next step a trust deed if DAS is not accepted? My only worry about going for a trust deed if it does not get protected then I can still be chased by creditors and taken to court? I thought the whole point of trust deed was to stop this happening. Can you help enlighten me more?

Hi Regreteverything,

Both DAS and trust deeds do require a degree of creditor support (or at least a failure to object). The legal protection comes into place when sufficient creditor support has been received in both cases.

The good news is that those who set up these solutions have a good understanding of what creditors will and will not accept. If there's a significant risk of your creditors turning your proposals down, a good adviser will usually be able to warn you in advance.

It's also the case that the great majority of trust deed and DAS proposals do get accepted.

There are quite straightforward steps that can be taken to provide you with formal legal protection from your creditors while you're in the process of trying to get creditor support for a DAS or a trust deed.

Hi Regreteverything. The likelihood of success or otherwise of any DAS or Protected Trust Deed proposal is something that a decent insolvency practitioner should be able to give a clear indication of prior to you making a decision - without there being any guarantees of course. From the information you have provided so far I would say that there should be a very good chance of being able to set up either of these solutions if you wish.

As I said before, a moratorium can keep creditors at bay in the meantime.

It is entirely understandable that you are worried and nervous about all of this - it would be strange if you weren't - but I would encourage you to listen to the experiences of others on this forum who have been where you are now. The vast majority of them feel so much better after going forward with their chosen solution, whether DAS or Trust Deed. This is after all the whole reason why these solutions are available in the first place - to give people relief from the burden of their debts and a path out of it.

Thank you so much for your reply. I’m just trying to understand this all. I have completed my financial tool budget with Stepchange and whilst I am hopeful my DAS will get approved, currently the proposal is at 9 years and 8 months to repay a debt of just under 50k. I will be paying around £450 a month. My CFT budget is also very tight and they can see there are no room for any luxuries at all as all surplus income of £450 is going on the DPP. As most of the loans have been spent on gambling, I am worried that all the creditors will still object to this. I have since addressed my gambling issues and I only look back to that time and think what a stupid idiot I have been, I cannot turn back time and I have face what’s to come. Please no judgement as I was severely ill and battling mental health issues during this time. As much as I want to pay all my creditors back fully- this all relies on them approving my DAS - and to be honest it’s all I want in the world right now. However, I’m not sure what my options are if they do not accept it? I have no assets to protect, I don’t own my house as I live with my partner, (not married) and we don’t have any financial accounts linked as we keep our spending separately. If the DAS does not work out for me- i think I would have to apply for my own sequestration. Is this possible? Ive read trust deeds are only viable if you want to protect any house or assess which I don’t have. I’m just worried what the implications are to my partner - if I apply for sequestration Incase the DAS does not get accepted , will someone come to the house and start auditing all the items like tv and fridge in the house? I don’t own anything of value in the house and my partner said if people start coming, I’ll be out the door that’s why I’m really hoping my DAS gets approved as this is really my only chance right now.

Hi Regreteverything,

As mentioned before, the sustainability of any budget that you agree to is absolutely vital (and even more so if it's going to be for a period of nearly 10 years).

The risk is that you accidentally replace one problem with another if your budget isn't genuinely sustainable in the medium to long term.

We're not going to make any judgment about what caused these debts to build up. From a personal perspective, any negative judgment should mostly be reserved for gambling organisations that will accept enormous sums of money from people without making even the most basic of checks as to whether this money was affordable for the gambler.

It's clearly a matter for you whether you prefer to fully repay your debts, but sequestration or a trust deed would apparently enable you to move forwards financially (and put these painful issues behind you) much sooner than DAS.

The consequences of a trust deed or sequestration would in reality appear to be very similar for you. You'd usually be expected to pay what you can reasonably afford towards the debts for a period of four years in both cases. In both cases if you came into money (or assets) you'd also be expected to pay it over to help repay your creditors.

Trust deeds and sequestration also both take into account any assets that you own. However, in neither case would the trustee have any interest whatsoever in any regular household goods that you might own. This is more about things like owing a home, car, shares, or other similar assets that have a particular and significant value.

A Trust Deed is not only for people who wish to protect an asset such as their home. It can absolutely be used if you have no assets too, in the same way as bankruptcy. As long as you can afford to make a sufficient contribution towards your debts then it should be an option for you. As I said before, based on what you have told us already I would be very surprised if there were any problems setting up a Protected Trust Deed for you.
It sounds like you are not particularly clear as to how the various options work yet, Regreteverything, which isn't a great basis for making an important decision like this. Good advice at this stage is vital, so please don't hesitate to reach out to one of the experts here to discuss things.
If you are worried that the DAS proposals may be difficult to stick to then I would urge you to step back and consider the other options too. A PTD or a sequestration would likely allow you to make lower payments and over a much shorter period of time. To be honest, I am not sure that ploughing ahead with a DAS you may struggle to afford is a wise move.