36 months was certainly the norm back then, but a longer term would often be proposed if required in order to achieve protection.

It is hard to answer your question without knowing more details. For example, it might depend upon who your creditors are, fedupofdebt. Some creditors have stricter criteria than others and it may have been necessary to extend the term to ensure they accepted the proposals.

hi there, it was mostly payday lenders, provident and a catalogue company, like i say, smaller debts, think the highest one was provident at aroun £2.5k.

Hi fedupofdebt.

I don't think that there's necessarily any reason to believe that you're being ripped off. Three years was the minimum at the time, but plenty of trust deeds were set up to run for longer.

The issue is, even if you were paying very high fees meaning that your trust deed had to run for longer, everyone involved is bound by the four year arrangement once they've agreed to it.

yes i suppose so, just a friend of mines had higher debts in 2010 and entered into a 3 year TD, alebit they paid a bit more every month than me. ah well last payment is due in october anyway so the end is in sight

I'm glad to hear that fedupofdebt.

I hope that the last few months pass quickly for you.

Hi Fedupofdebt,

It looks to me like the TD might not have been the best option for you given the amount you are paying back in comparison to what you owed. Not much use to you now, but I would have thought at DAS would have been better for you.

I have often wondered why I have been paying more into my TD and for longer than what a friend had, and he has very similar circumstances. I assume this is simply because I had larger debts with the same company and therefore had to satisfy this company more than others might have to.

Ally

Our td ran over 42 months. This was due to high level of debt and to ensure sufficient returns to get td protected.

Paul

Hi fedupofdebt,

As others have said pre November 2013 Trust Deeds were over a minimum of 3 years but could also run between 3-5 years in order to meet the criteria set out by most creditors. If the criteria couldn't be met with payments over 3 years then Trust Deeds were regularly run a little longer to meet the criteria. The legislation changed in November 2013 and now Trust Deeds are for a minimum of 4 years.

I can understand your point though about your TD being 4 years and your friends being over 3 years and I guess that's the benefit of hindsight and looking back. I would focus on the last payment in October and you can then put the Trust Deed behind you. This time next year you should be free of the Trust Deed and completely debt free.

SkintAlly does make a very valid point about the DAS and that being a possible alternative to the Trust Deed. I guess for anyone reading this and considering their options you need to make sure that all of your options have been explored.