Welcome to the forum Kl20.

I'm afraid to say that there's not going to be any straightforward way to accomplish this.

The trust deed is a legal agreement which is binding on your creditors, your trustee, and on you. If you can afford to keep paying into your trust deed it's very unlikely that your trustee would see a strong enough reason for it to end.

If you stopped making payments into your trust deed you might find that it's terminated and you could start dealing with your creditors again. That's a very risky course of action though, because your trustee might seek to arrest your wages to maintain the payments, or even to seek your bankruptcy.

I'm sorry that this will not be the answer you were hoping to hear.

Hi Kl20 and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear that your feeling like the Trust Deed wasn’t the right option for you.

What has changed to make you feel like this?

Once you enter a Trust Deed it’s very difficult to come back out of it and it’s something which you need to see through. You can only come out of the Trust Deed if your Trustees agrees to release you and generally speaking this will only happen if you are unable to financially support the payments i.e. change in circumstances, loss of a job etc. If nothing has changed but you have just had a change of heart about it then it’s very difficult.

Can you tell us how much debt you entered the Trust Deed with and how much your payments are per month?

Thank you for replying. I wouldn't just stop paying as I know that's risky & has consequences too. At the time of entering I had loads of personal problems, was going through a very stressful time and did not think things through properly, I'm just so upset as I now dont think it was right thing for me to do. I have £21000 debt & pay £200 per month

Now with a clearer mind I dont feel all avenues were explored in finding a way out of my debt...if I'd fully understood the implications of a PTD I'd never have entered one #128542;

Hi Kl20,

Ah ok I understand.

Can I ask a couple of more questions:

1. what else do you think you could have done to clear £21,000 of debts?

2. Do you remember how much your debt payments were costing you per month and had you defaulted on any payments?

3. What implications is it that you don’t like about the Trust Deed?

To deal with that size of debt I would say you would have had three main options: a Trust Deed, Debt Arrangement Scheme and Sequestration.

When it comes to your alternative options, if you entered a DAS which is whereby you pay all of your debts back then paying £200 per month would mean it would take you approximately 9 years to repay.

Sequestration is the Scottish term for Bankruptcy and works similar to a Trust Deed in that you make a payment per month for 4 years.

If we look at your current situation and being in the Trust Deed, you will pay £200 for 4 years and be debt free at the end repaying £9,600 and writing off £11,400. Again I’m assuming that if you tried to repay your debts back yourself without the help of an organisation it would take you a lot longer than 4 years and cost you a lot more than £9,600.

Would you have preferred the Debt Arrangement Scheme for example over 9 years?

I would try not to look back with regrets. If you can sustain your payments per month you will be debt free in 4 years’ time and be able to put this all behind you. Many people on the forum once they complete their Trust Deed say it’s was the best decision they made. I know it might not feel like this right but this may change long term.

I had never defaulted on any my payments before PTD although I did transfer outstanding balances from one credit card to another to try and prevent any defaults on accounts. I also had a £1600 overdraft which was always up to its limit but i never accrued any charges as I tried to stay within limit. I feel PTD wasn't right option for me because of adverse credit rating, also if I had went down the road of DAS I over the years if I have any extra money I could pay this without messing up my credit financial history. I just feel really negative about the whole experience and the advice I was given 🙁

Hi Kl20.

DAS would still have resulted in damage to your credit rating.

Maybe not as much as will happen with a trust deed, but in your circumstances potentially a negative factor for much longer.

Hi Kl20,

Unfortunately as soon as you don’t make your contractual monthly repayments on a debt this will have a negative impact on your credit file for a period of 6 years. In my experience when someone has debts of £21,000 and are balance transferring their debts to avoid interest it’s only a matter of time before the exhaust all balance transfer credit cards and are then left with the monthly repayments. Unless you are paying more than the minimum payments you struggle to reduce the debts. I think it might have only been a matter of time before you hit that point and then started to miss payments and began financially struggling.

Even although on the DAS you would have repaid your debts in full this will still have had an significant negative impact on your credit file for potentially the full duration of the DAS i.e. 9 years which can be longer than the impact a Trust Deed has and also Sequestration.

Sometimes it comes down to the quality of advice from that advisor or company that can make you feel uneasy. I know this doesn’t help in your situation but that’s why we try and encourage people to seek advice from a couple of advisors or firm as experience can vary from firm to firm. When I sit down with a client I’ll look at all of their options, their budget, how much their debt repayments are costing them per month and to see how long it would take for them to repay their debts without the help of a TD, DAS or SEQ.

Having a brief summary of your situation I do think that a Trust Deed is a suitable option for you and on the balance of things I think it was a good decision for you to enter into it. It has allowed you to regain control of your finances, have one monthly payment per month and not have to think about balance transfers and all of the minimum payments per month.

It's not the end of your credit rating for the rest of your life either. It will rebuild itself and you will even be able to secure car finance in the future and also a mortgage. Have a look at the forum for people who have completed theirs and this might reassure you. As I said try to look forward and think that you will be debt free in a little under 4 years.

I think now with a clearer head what's probably upsetting me more is the fact I didn't explore other avenues or speak to different firms, company I went with did not discuss other options with me looking back they seemed keen just to proceed with PTD. Think experience of dealing with the company is giving me a uneasy and negative feeling about PTD. Thank you for your replies it's the most anyone has ever spoken to me about this

I also thought PTD lasted 4 years I wasn't told it could be last longer or be extended, reading people's posts on here it doesn't always work out like that. Many people have commented their trust deed has been extended beyond this period. My wages change every month so it would be different cult for me to continually inform the company

I don't suppose you would give the name of the company you are using....or are we allowed to do that?

Hi SunnyM.

We try to avoid telling people what they can and cannot write.

As a general rule though the focus is upon helping the individual asking a question to understand their position and/or resolve their concern.

Naming a firm often doesn't add anything to that process.

Hi Kl20.

Trust deeds run for a minimum of four years, unless the debts and fees are fully repaid earlier.

If your income is quite variable it might be worth the effort to keep your trustee updated periodically.

Hi TDA...thanks for keeping me right...just wasn't sure if the etiquette here. Apologies.