Hi David. Don't know much about Trust Deed Scotland but you're doing the right thing by looking to speak to more than one company. No harm in meeting them and asking lots of questions. I was with KPMG. They get a lot of negative feedback on here but I had no issues with them and was discharged a week after making my last payment. The firms that are on here get a lot of very positive feedback so it's probably a good idea to speak to them too. If you don't owe money to RBS you'll probably be alright but they may well close or convert your accounts to basic ones once they find out about any trust deed. Different firms have different ideas about savings. Make sure your question about a credit union is something you ask at your meetings. Some firms might see it as an asset and want any savings but others may feel that once you've paid your agreed sum any surplus is yours to manage how you see fit. The trust deed was very good for me. Sure, my credit rating is in the toilet for the foreseeable future but I don't owe anyone any money and don't have creditors breathing down my neck. I can answer the phone and don't mind hearing the postman deliver the mail! Good luck!

Hi David and welcome to the forum,

First of all well done on taking steps to try and deal with your financial difficulties.

As far as I know Trust Deed Scotland will probably pass your file to another company to set up your Trust Deed who are based in Manchester. They are effectively a middleman company and won't handle your Trust Deed. You should check this with them.

When setting up a Trust Deed I would always suggest sitting down with a couple of advisors from different firms to discuss all of your options. This way you will be able to make a decision on who you feel most comfortable with. Different firms deal with cases differently in terms of assets and also level of customer service. We are a Glasgow City Firm.

The most important part is to make sure you receive absolutely everything with regards to your Trust Deed in writing before you sign up. This should cover your payments per month and the timescale and how any assets you might have will be treated.

To answer your questions:

1 - if you don't have any debt with the RBS then you would not be required to change accounts. Do you have ny pay day loans? If you do then you would need to make sure you cancel their payments to prevent them talking any money from your account.

2 - With my firm we actually encourage you to set up a saving account. We deal with Glasgow Credit Union and can put you in touch with them if you don't already have a credit union. During the course of a Trust Deed people will require access to emergency funds so savings are a good idea. We will allow you to save up to and around £1,000.

3 - speaking for an advisors point of view, the majority of clients that I deal with all say that a Trust Deed has really helped them. It's allowed them to become debt free and start to rebuild their credit files. It has given them a fixed manageable payment per month and fixed timescale to becoming debt free. You will find lots of success stories on the forum from people who have completed their Trust Deeds.

If you could give us an idea of your current financial situation we could give you some general advice? Do you have any assets i.e. Own home, car and what is the level of your debts and who are the main companies that you have the biggest debts to?

Thanks upstream for the reply, yeah I'm pretty much in the same position at the moment with regards to credit rating, all my own fault though so can't conplain, I'm not fussed about having a bad credit rating for next 6 years if after that I can start to rebuild it. The way I'm looking by at it just now is I've tried dealing with my creditors myself and offered them payment plans which some have accepted but most haven't so I've gave up dealing with most of them, it feels like it's blood they want back and not money sometimes lol

Again thanks for the reply 🙂

Hi david,

That's what I was afraid of, I don't want any middle men passing me about with them all taking a slice of the pie, I would rather be dealing with one company and that's it.

With the bank account thing I'm glad about that, Ive had payday loans in the last year or two but all my cards have been changed and I cancelled all direct debits with them as well, another worry with the bank is that I have a joint account with my girlfriend, all we put in it each month is what's needed to pay the bills for the house etc but I'm afraid that because she is now a financial connection of mynn a trust deed could affect her credit rating too, which is perfect and she is also debt free.

I am already a member of glasgow credit union at the moment which is good, I find them excellent to deal with, what would happen with any savings over and above the agreed limit, would it become an asset to go to creditors?

My current situation is that I am just over 13k in unsecured debt, I know of and have found 12k but believe there is still a bit more that's not showing on my credit file at the moment, I private rent my house with my partner and the only asset I have to my name is my car which is worth around the 2k margin,

Hope that gives you a better idea of my circumstances and any advice is much appreciated,

Thanks

David

Hi David,

We always tell people that where possible to deal directly with the company which will handle your Trust Deed from start to finish. That way everything is agreed with them and there are no complications or problems later on down the line. I would always suggest that you ask if the advisor you first deal with and have a meeting with will be your main point of contact throughout the Trust Deed. That's they way all the experts on the forum operate.

One thing to ensure is that you request your bank to cancel all continuous payment authorities on your account to any pay day lenders. This should ensure that they are not able to take any money from your account.

You and your girlfriend can check your credit report to see if your financial associated with each other at the moment. It shouldn't cause her any massive problems in terms of her credit rating but it might prompt some further questions from a lender if she were to apply for anything in the future.

Glasgow Credit Union are fantastic for savings, loans and also mortgages. A good knowledgable advisor should sit down with you and work through a very thorough income and expenditure. From this you will be allowed an allowance for things like car repair costs, clothing and house maintenance etc. In our eyes you need to have someone to save this with as you go. Once you creep above £1,000 the argument could be that what unforeseen expense could crop up that would need you to have more than that to cover the cost. The Trust Deed writes off a proportion of debts but at the same time a client is meant to pay in as much as they can afford. Anything above £1,000 could be looked at as an asset.

A Trust Deed based on your circumstances does sound fairly straight forward as you don't have a property and your car is worth less than £3,000. Any car less than that isn't an asset.

What do you think you could afford to pay per month to a Trust Deed? The payment per month needs to be affordable and sustainable for the next 4 years so it's important that a thorough income and expenditure is done to establish this.

Of your £12,000 to £13,000 who are your biggest creditors? The reason that I ask is under a Trust Deed creditors are required to accept or reject the proposal. Different creditors have a different acceptance criteria. Again a good advisor should take you step by step through all of this.

Also, depending on your budget you could consider the Debt Arrangement Scheme.

Providing a Trust Deed is set up correctly and everything confirmed in writing it should run as agreed without and problems and provide the debt relief it's designed for. Often the thought of being debt free in 48 months sounds too good to be true to clients.

Tbh I don't want to deal with any company that will put me onto a 3rd party, Id rather have a name as a point of contact throughout the course of the trust deed who is local to me and not a few hundred miles away.

I had cancelled all continuous payment authorities over a year ago now so in that respect the accounts are safe, I'm already on noddle and my credit report has a financial link to my partner through our joint account, I dont know if it would be in her best interest to close the account and have the link removed before going ahead with a trust deed,

As it stands just now my wages vary week to week depending on the overtime I do, but it's never less than a set amount and from the set amount I believe I could happily contribute £150 a month into a trust deed, maybe more of required but would have to do a proper budget sheet to work out if I could pay anymore

The two biggest creditors I have are scott and co for council tax arrears on previous properties I've stayed in for just over 2k, council tax for my current property is up to date, hmrc are the second biggest creditor again at just over 2k for a tax credit overpayment, both of these I have arrangements for £15 a week being repaid but have advised them I may be entering into a trust deed, the rest is mainly unsecured loans and things like that,

A debt arrangement scheme is something I also looked into but any company I've spoke to seem to prefer the trust deed, but I don't know if that's purely on a profit basis on there part or not,

Hi David,

The level of customer service and having a specific contact point for a Trust Deed I think can often be overlooked when someone is considering a company to help them deal with things. If there is ever a problem and you deal with a local firm you can always pop into an office and discuss things in person rather than over the phone. In the majority of Trust Deeds things run smoothly and there isn't a need for a meeting etc but you would always have that option. I've got clients who drop in with their income and expenditure reviews as we are based in Glasgow City Centre. Some clients like face to face dealings.

In terms of the specific impact that your Trust Deed would have on your partner I honestly couldn't say. You would need to look into the terms and conditions of requesting a financial disassociation from the credit reference agencies as this is something that could help prevent any negative impact on her credit rating.

Based on the level of your debts a payment in the region of £150 per month should be an acceptable amount. You don't want your budget to be too tight but a good advisor will be very thorough with you to ensure you haven't missed anything out.

Under a DAS, If your debts are £13,000 and you paid £150 per month it would take 7.2 years to clear your debts and that isn't taking into consideration the fees which a private company would charge. These can vary from firm to firm but the Citizens Advice can set it up free of charge.

A good advisor should outline all of your options, the pros and cons along with the timescales and then allow you to decide which one best suits your circumstances. By doing this you can sometimes rule out different options with a client and the reasons why which the client can then understand. Generally speaking firms make more in fees from a Trust Deed than a DAS so you need to be mindful of this when receiving advice from a firm. If they only tell you about one option then you should think seriously about the advice being given.

Thanks for all the advice david, I've read a lot of good things about yourself on the forum, i have left my details in the contact you part of your profile, would you be interested in possibly dealing with a trust deed for myself if that is the best option for me?

Thanks

David

Hi David,

I'd be happy to speak with you and provide you with advice on all of your options.

I'll be in touch soon.

Hi David

Well done on taking the first steps to sorting out your debt. I used one of the firms on this forum and found it very helpful to have someone that I knew at the end of the telephone/e-mail.

Just one point I noticed, you say your wage varies, if you do go ahead with a TD I would ask your Trustee if they will take extra from your wages. I know some people have an arrangement re overtime - just a heads up!