Hello wyttchie.

It sounds as though you have never had any confirmation that you have been discharged from your trust deed?

Do you think that there is equity in your home?

Hi.. The firm I used was Invocas of Glasgow..I honestly cannot remember if they mentioned Equity on my flat. They want to send someone out to value it. I am frightened that they can touch my retirement money.

Hi wyttchie.

I don't think we're in a position to advise you with any confidence I'm afraid. Normally we advise people who are considering taking a pension lump sum during a trust deed to do so cautiously by getting confirmation from their Trustee in advance about what the position will be if they do.

Hopefully Mark, Shona or Kevin can provide some more information but I think much is going to come down to the detail of the trust deed that you signed and the view of your Trustee.
It does sound like they are more interested in investigating possible PPI claims and any equity in your flat rather than looking at your bank accounts though?

Can you think of any reason why your discharge would have taken so long?

Hi..Really worried now.....Very frightened incase they can claim my retirement money as I dont work. Bought my flat in June 2002.. for £32.000.00 Went online to find its value..some are quoting £68.000.00. Not really sure what it means.

Hi..They said about my discharge being overlooked was because of lack of communication and an oversite. They were very vague about it.

I don't see how they can claim your retirement money - on a moral basis as much as anything. It sounds as if they may have been remiss in not organising your discharge some time ago and to compound that by trying to cash in on their own error is surely wrong.

Let us know how things progress, wyttchie. I think the bigger issue might be the possible equity in your property - was this not discussed when you set up the trust deed?

Hi ..Because it was so long ago I really cant remember if Equity...im really not sure how this Equity thing works....will it mean I will have to pay them thousands do you think...sorry for being so stupid,,but ive never been good with these sort of things. I appreciate all of your advice. Thank You.

Do you have a mortgage on your flat, wyttchie? How much was the debt total that went into the trust deed?

Yes .. Im still paying my mortgage. I have over seven years left to pay...approx £27.000.00. I think the debt total was abput £28.000.00.

Hello wyttchie.

I think you're going to need to contact your trust deed firm to clarify exactly what agreement is in place in terms of the equity in your home. For example, was a set amount discussed at the start of the trust deed? It sounds like it may not have been.

The thing that is worrying Kevin and I is that when you sign a trust deed any equity that you have in a property "vests" in the Trustee. Basically they then have a responsibility to raise that money somehow to help repay your creditors.

It looks as though you might have quite a bit of equity. It's worked out by subtracting the mortgage figure from the property valuation.

I assume that you signed your trust deed in 2006? At the time it was pretty easy for most people to remortgage equity from their homes. These days that type of mortgage doesn't really exist any more so people with a fair bit of equity are often less inclined to sign trust deeds.

At this stage I dont think you are going to fully know where you stand or what will happen until the valuation is done and your Trustee comes back to you. You may wish to speak to them in principle though to confirm the exact nature of what you agreed to when you signed.

Hi wyttchie.

We cannot advise you to move or conceal money.

We can only really advise you to work with your trust deed firm so that you become clear about exactly where you stand.

Thank you for your advice.