You can post as often as you like colski!

It's great to hear that your stress levels have been in decline.

Reaching out for help and making an informed decision so often seem to achieve this.

Hi Colski

My husband and I signed last night and to say I'm petrified is an understatement. I can't wait to hear that everything is ok, and until I do I will be sick with worry. The phone calls have started for me too this week and it's just horrendous. I need to get the courage to speak to them to tell them about the trust deed but hiding under the desk is the option I'm going for at the moment.

All the best to you and I hope everything goes well for both of us x

This is the most stressful bit. The months between signing, getting protected and when the calls die off. You'll get a bit numb to the phone calls and probably more fed up than scared or upset. Keep talking to your trustee as they'll have got loads of people through this before you. Also everyone on this forum probably has experience of your creditors and the delightful companies they'll sell your debts on to. Try to relax and let the whole thing take it's course. It gets a bit less stressful once you're protected. Then it goes in really quickly until the discharge process and then because you're desperate for it to be over, it seems to drag.

And another thing, get caller ID. If you don't want to answer the phone, don't. These companies will have all the info they need from your trustee. It's up to them to make sure it filters through all the relevant departments.

Colski - I wish you every success in your new venture in to the Trust Deed. The majority of cases are getting protected as the awareness of the criteria that awards protection is higher than ever. As long as your Trustee has stuck to the guidelines set out to all Trustee's and creditors and there is no unreasonable expenditure in document, then there should be no reason for creditors not to acceed to it's protection.

Once the Trustee has sent the initial letter to your creditors, along with a Statement of your Affairs and a claim form, I would generally advise that within 4-6 weeks creditors should not still be writing and phoning you. I say this as it can take time for the larger creditor bodies to get the letter to the right department and to update the address on the account to that of the Trustee's office. However, please note that you no longer have any responsibility to deal with your creditors and you have a number of options on how you wish to deal with them:

1. When they write or phone, advise them you have signed a Trust Deed and give them the details of your Trustee to whom they should direct further letters and phone calls;
2. Ignore any phonecalls from creditors and forward all creditor mail on to the Trustee (maybe let it build up and send it at the end of every week or two weeks).

This is quite normal at the outset of the Trust Deed but i can advise that the letters and phonecalls will stop, they just need to be advised of the appointment of the Trustee, by the Trustee themself.

Many Thanks

Yeah we have called ID. The calls are understandable and given I work in sales I am quick good at handeling the very pushy people on the other end wanting money regardless of the TD.

My main gripe is the time of the calls. I have a very young family who go to be arround 18:30 but these calls continue right up to and sometime past 8pm anoyingly.

The long wait to get protected is stressfull but given our case is straighforward Im hopefull it will happen in arround 5/6 weeks as per normal timescales.

Our case manager is excelent as I simply scan and forward any letters and she follows up the company.

Just wanted to add that many creditors are English based so their knowledge of PTDs is frequently nil. I had to explain to many that a PTD was the near equivalent of an English IVA...work on the basis that their ignorance is their problem, not yours!

That's a good point Charlie1958, though to be fair many of them have been taught nothing about IVAs etc either!

When you're getting the kiddies settled, put phones on silent or unplug them.

Or change your number for free via BT?

Signed this morning. Now the wait for protection. Feeling a tad less stressed.!!

It is a great weight off.... Just a few weeks (well 4-6 weeks) and all going well things will be protected.

I recieved a copy my first cicular to my creditors yesterday which made for interesting reading. I cant believe when lookign at it closley in black and white how bad I managed my fancies up to now.

I honestlty think I have a genuine issue with managing money and am learning a very serious lesson in it now. I could seriously use some leasons and advice on managing money much better as I do not plan on every getting anywhere the same position as I am in at present!

Hi colski,

If you look at the results of our recent survey at...

https://www.trust-deed.co.uk/Documents/2012SurveyFullReport.pdf

...you'll see that a lot of people feel the same.

There's certainly some scope for the Scottish Government to make available financial education for those, using formal debt solutions, that believe it would be beneficial.

That survey makes for interesting reading TDA.

I had a quick google and found this site...

(Link Removed - to find it "Google" West And Central Voluntary Sector Network and look up the Free Money Management Course run by Christians Against Poverty on the site).

Not being religious myself I wasnt sure if it applied to me but reading through the site it looks like they will help anyone. I may attend a class to see what the lay of the land is and report back.

C