There are lots of "grey" issues connected to trust deeds rather than everything being black and white. That's why the role of a Trustee is so important, they have to use their training and discretion and interpretive skills in many ways.

This can result in things being apparently being done a little differently from firm to firm. We are seeing that with PPI at the moment for example.

The important thing is to know where you stand, which is why talking things through and getting some written confirmations before signing a trust deed is, in our experience, very important.

I think it's important also that anyone in a trust deed tries to save some kind of emergency fund which is readily accessible if it's later needed.

The greyness of varying companies does hamper the image of trust deeds,and a standardisation would benefit the industry. May be simplistic but down south they have protocol compliant IVA's which follow a standard pattern and there is no reason that wouldnt work for the majority up here.

Paul

I agree, the greyness and unknowns when signing are a problem.
However, would the standardisation you propose benefit those on a 36month/three year Trust Deed or an IVA as they have down South which can run for 5+ years? I know which I'd prefer!

Ralph

It wouldnt have to change the basics of a PTD,like the length it runs but anything that removes the grey bits would benefit the person in debt.

Paul

There are plenty of shades of grey connected to an IVA as well plasticdaft.

An insolvency practitioner stills needs to use their training and discretion very often as it's simply impossible to create a rulebook that encompasses the endless variety of circumstances that can arise.

But standardisation would be nice,and yes I agree that IVA's vary down south but major points are pretty standard.

Dealing with equity etc should all be standardised so people arent left stuck 3 years into a PTD only to discover that they still have to sell up to release equity as no mortgage lender will touch them.

Improvements could be made for the benefit of the consumer.

Paul

I totally agree with that plasticdaft.

There has been a lot of work going on at the AIB with a "protected trust deed working group" looking at whether some of the positives associated with the IVA protocol could be brought to trust deeds.

Up date
After writting a letter to my IP (RSM Tenon), I have received a response that states that catergorically while you are in a trust deed you are not allowed to contribute to any form of savings This the exact opposite of what we is generally said here about being encouraged to save for a rainy day while in an TD.
I have also been told that my household budget (+ school meals +school dinners) of £400 is adequate and that the CCCS guidelines are not worth the paper they are printed on.What is the basis of determination of adequacy of a budget to meet one's living costs??
Seriously hacked off - considering jacking the whole thing in - what are my options with regards to going down the route of sequestration??

Hello skintfornow

I think there may be some confusion between the terms "saving" and "contingencies". As I said in my previous post on this thread (without being aware that your IP firm is RSM Tenon) sharesave schemes would not normally be viewed as putting something aside for contingencies. The amount allowed for contingencies wouldn't normally be as much as £100pm either.

In terms of the budget for housekeeping, I am surprised that £400pm would be deemed adequate for all of these things for a family of 5, though it is difficult for me to comment without seeing your full income/expenditure breakdown and what is allowed elsewhere. It may be that there is a miscommunication/misunderstanding somewhere along the line here and I'd be grateful for the opportunity to get involved from our end to have a look at the detail of your situation and see if this can't be sorted out to everyone's satisfaction.

Maybe if you can get in touch with me and give me your real name etc then I can do this?