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Scottish Trust Deed Forum
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Topic starter
12/02/2017 2:18 pm
Hi All,
Just looking for a little advice and info before I phone StepChange.
I currently have a DMP that had been going fine, I worked fulltime and my boyfriend looked after our bairns (one 2, due to start nursery in August and one 5 at school). My boyfriend got offered and full time job and due to stress at work I quit and he has now gone full time. We have the same take home pay and are still meeting the DMP payment.
I just checked one of my latest statements and one of my creditors is adding interest and charges (I knew they could do this) but it means this debt is going up £9 per month. Now I am not working DAS is no longer an option. I am unsure whether I should just continue with the DMP until I am able to work parttime and then could apply for a DAS (currently I am getting child tax credit and child benefit only and my boyfriend his wage).
Or should I be looking at sequestration? We have a joint mortgage, I would not expect there is much more than 5k total equity in house and it needs a lot of work. I also have a car on HP. So if sequestration was an options I have a couple of questions, what would happen to the car on HP (my boyfriend doesn't drive and I take him to and from work so a car is essential), I have applied to start college in August, how would sequestration affect student finance (I would be entitled to a bursary and a cost of living loan), after a year at college I plan on university (my boyfriend works shifts and my two kids will be full time nursery/school as we will get help towards the childcare costs and I might be able to find a suitable part time job around these hours).
I am just unsure whether I should continue with the DMP until I can get a part time job and apply for a DAS or if I should be considering sequestration and how will sequestration affect college/Uni student finance and my car on HP. I am hoping the house will be ok as there will not be a lot of equity in it, the last valuation we had about 4 years ago was £75k and we have £68k left on mortgage (we paid 105k for house but the value has fallped significantly).
Sorry this is all muddled, trying to get my head around the situation. DMP is still going, payments are fine etc so am not too stressed about it all yet. Any info or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
13/02/2017 8:59 am
Hi blacklily.
There's possibly a risk with sequestration (bankruptcy) which may concern you.
Without an income you will not be in a position to go directly to a trustee who you want to handle this for you. This is because you're not in a position to contribute currently so they'd have no way to recover their costs.
Where you go direct to a trustee you'd likely get a valuation of your property done in advance so you'd be able to judge whether your home would be in peril before committing. If this isn't possible then a trustee would be assigned to you after your application had been accepted. The valuation would take place after you were committed and you would not know what the consequences for your home (if any) might be before there's no way to back out.
Regarding your car, I'd suggest asking the finance provider what they'd do if you took this step. Different firms have different contractual terms and also take a different approach to such a scenario.
You can read much more information about sequestration at:
Qualified Debt Adviser & Forum Administrator - Ask me anything about Trust Deeds 
13/02/2017 9:19 am
If I understand you correctly, your boyfriend's wage means that you could carry on with paying your debts off at the same rate as you have been - the only thing preventing you doing so is that there is interest/charges being added on to one of the debts. Is this correct? How long would it take to repay your debts if the interest was stopped?
The reason I ask is that a DAS payment programme could be set up if that's what you wanted to do, regardless of whether you are working or not yourself. It could be funded by your boyfriend's wage instead if he is happy to do so.
The same applies to a Trust Deed actually. It is unusual to do it, but if there is a strong enough reason to do so then there is nothing to stop you proposing a Trust Deed based on payments from a third party (ie your boyfriend). Or if there is equity in your property then it could be based on him paying in to a Trust Deed in lieu of this.
Might be worth reaching out to an expert such as myself or David to get a clearer picture of the options you may have. I would think that it could well be possible to set things up so that you are getting the benefit of some of your debts being written off but without the uncertainty of how your property might be dealt with in a sequestration under the Accountant in Bankruptcy.
Scottish Debt Solutions Expert - Ask me for help setting up a Scottish Trust Deed or Debt Arrangement Scheme plan.
Topic starter
13/02/2017 10:06 am
Thank you both for replying, I am glad to hear that das is still an option. As I have a DMP with stepchange do I have to use them for the das?
13/02/2017 10:08 am
You don't blacklily.
You can use whoever you choose.
Qualified Debt Adviser & Forum Administrator - Ask me anything about Trust Deeds
