I would absolutely encourage anyone with experience of a Trust Deed to consider submitting their views on it.

Without input from people who have experienced a Trust Deed both positively and unfortunately negatively, improvements to the legislation and way in which Trust Deeds work might not happen.

Behind the scenes I’ve heard that lenders are driving the request for this call for evidence and what we don’t want to happen is for more of a focus or balance tipped in the lenders favour.

In my opinion if set up correctly and for the right reasons with due care and attention taken at the start of the debt advice process, a Trust Deed is a fantastic tool for helping people deal with debts in a difficult period of their life.

The Government in Scotland have moved Trust Deed’s from 3 year payment period to 4 years and also the same with Sequestration. I want to ensure that any possible change is fair and balanced for both the clients and the lenders.

I completely agree David. Trust Deeds are a fantastic debt solution for people who find themselves unable to meet their current debt commitments.

Usually stakeholder call for evidence is aimed for money advisors, Insolvency Practitioners and creditors. It is encouraging that the Scottish Government are seeking the views of individuals who enter into trust deeds and for their voice to be heard.

In my experience I think it is a license to print money. Seems to be their way and no one elses. The work in very strange ways. I could go on and on but most is explained on another topic.

You might want to contribute your views in that case Allan.

They're looking to hear about positive and negative experiences, so that opportunities to improve can be identified.

Firstly, thank you to the experts and participants on this Forum. It is an invaluable source of advice.

The main issue that this review is considering is the influence of Introducers, companies who sell Trust Deed leads to the volume Trust Deed providers, and whether or not they are providing individuals with the best advice. There has been an increase in Trust Deed numbers over recent years and there is a growing concern that this has been driven by the mis-selling of Trust Deeds by Introducers.

Many Introducers are FCA regulated or present themselves as acting in the interest of individuals with debt problems. The reallity is often far removed from this, with many Introducers exploiting the vulnerable with the sole purpose of selling a Trust Deed. A debt adviser is required to discuss all appropriate solutions with the debtor and provide them with sufficient information to enable them to make an informed choice, but the advice is skewed towards a Trust Deed because the Introducer knows that they will be paid between £1,000 and £1,500 by a volume provider for a Trust Deed lead. No other Scottish debt solution is traded in this way and because the rewards are high, the Introducers spend significant sums on marketing Trust Deeds.

I have looked at several job adverts for debt advisers working for the Introducers and it is clear that they have sales targets and bonuses. Why would they recommend a DAS or sequestration when they need to sell a Trust Deed to achieve their targets?

I have seen examples of individuals signing a Trust Deed where DAS or sequestration would have been a more appropriate solution. These are often cases where the debt level is just above £5,000 and the income and expenditure statement has been manipulated to make the monthly contribution as low as possible, making other solutions such as DAS or a Debt Management Plan less attractive. If the Common Financial Statement had been used correctly to give an accurate affordable amount, a DAS would have given a better outcome for the debtor and creditors.

Trust Deeds are an excellent solution for many people, but there is no doubt that they are being abused by a number of unscrupulous "advisers". The debt advice sector, including the free advice agencies, needs to be changed in order to ensure that individuals receive good advise from suitably qualified and ethical advisers, and the selling of Trust Deeds, or any other debt solution, should be banned.

I would urge anyone who believes that they have been mis-sold a Trust Deed to contribute to this review. The more evidence the Scottish Government have, the better the chance for change.

If you are thinking about a Trust Deed, take your time, do a bit of research and make sure you deal with a reputable company. As I said at the start of this post, this Forum is invaluable and you should make the most of it.

Hi Adam1457,

I hear what you're saying and I have read similar comments elsewhere. There's more money to be made in Trust Deeds for the companies that process them.

I'm replying to this thread, as I would like to say that David Tannock from this forum did run through all the options with me and in my case we mutually decided that a Trust Deed wasn't the best option and we went for sequestration instead.

There's so many very flashy and expensive looking website and adverts out there but ultimately you're much less likely to be hooked up with one individual person that you can feel confident in trusting.

Something as simple as a profile page along with picture of the experts on this forum already put it ahead of other websites I had looks at before this one.

Just my personal experience of course but all very positive in my case. Hopefully many others will seek and follow through with help via this forum.

AberdeenPhoenix

Hi everyone,

I’ve just had a lengthy discussion with a representative from the Scottish Government who is assisting in this call for evidence.

Ideally they would like to have engagement with people who have actually been through the process of a Trust Deed and have had either a positive or negative experience.

On the 20th of January 2020 in Greenock a small and informal meeting was due to take place which I was scheduled to attend along with Jackie Baillie MSP and Colin Beattie MSP to listen to the experiences and views of people who have been through a Trust Deed.

Unfortunately some of the volunteers who had agreed to attend and provide their views and experiences are now no longer able to.

Would any forum members actually be willing to attend a small meeting with the committee to provide their views and feedback in person? If you are you can message me via the forum and we can arrange this.

I’ve been advised that it’s all confidential and no personal information would be used. It will be a good opportunity for the MSP’s involved to hear the feedback in person. I can understand though that it’s not something many people would be willing to do but this inquiry could shape the way forward for Trust Deed’s and we want to ensure we get it right.

Also have any of our forum members taken the time to respond to the call for evidence via the link about? If not I’d encourage you to take 15-20 minutes to do this.

Thanks