Hi Flyinghigh and welcome to the forum,

First off well done on taking positive steps to try and deal with your debts.

If my understanding is correct then your unsecured debts total in the region of £46,000. When debts are at that level and especially credit cards it's hard to try and reduce the balances without considering an option like a Trust Deed.

A Trust Deed is just one of the available options, you could also consider a Debt Arrangment Scheme or even Sequestration as an option.

Can you give me an idea of who the credit card debt is to and the balance for each of them? The reason I ask is a Trust Deed needs to be accepted by creditors and some creditors have a different criteria from others.

Also, your car that is on HP, who is the hire purchase company and are you 100% sure it's on HP?

Finallly how much do you feel you could afford to pay per month to a plan?

The best way to consider your options is by sitting down with a qualified advisor or two, going over a very thorough income and expenditure to see what you can afford to pay per month and from that you can then decide which options best suit your circumstances. You also need to be confident that whichever option you proceed with it wont have an impact on your job.

The positive thing to remember is that you will have solutions available to help you deal with the debts it's just working out which one best suits your circumstances.

Hi Flyinghigh (like the name!) and welcome to the forum

A Trust Deed may well be an suitable option for you, though it is of course impossible to say without a going through your situation in a bit more detail. There may also be other options which you might wish to consider, such as the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS).

Speaking generally, the most suitable option for you is likely to be determined by:

1) How much you can afford to pay towards your debts each month
2) How much debt you have
2) Whether you own any significant assets that you may have to give up if you enter a Trust Deed

Your debts are obviously pretty sizeable, which may mean that a Trust deed could be a good option for you as you would then know that your debts would be clear within 4 years. However, given the boost that your income will receive in a couple of years, maybe you would actually be able to repay the debt within a reasonable length of time anyway, especially if the interest is frozen in a DAS.

Both options could potentially work, so it may simply boil down to your own preference and how much longer a DAS may take vs a Trust Deed.

First stop is to go through your income and expenditure with an expert, whether one of us on the site or a debt adviser in a advice agency such as a CAB or local authority service. Then you will have a good idea of how much you would have to contribute to a formal debt solution. Importantly, you would also need to work out what you are likely to be able to afford once your income rises too. That way you can properly assess the timescales involved in each of the options open to you and come to a decision on the best way forward that works for you.

The car may not be a problem by the way, as long as it is reasonably required, which I'm sure it must be for your travel to work. However, it is something that would need to be assessed and agreed at the outset if you do wish to enter into a Protected Trust Deed.

Hi David and Kevin,

Thank you both for the quick response.

My credit card debts are as follows (approx):

Barclaycard - £10400
MBNA - £11700
Tesco - £2900
Halifax - £3900

My car is on hire purchase not PCP or similar and is through Blackhorse. I currently bank with TSB.

It is hard to say exactly what I think i could afford each month without, as you say, going through a detailed expenditure. However I do have reasonably low out goings if you take away the amount I am currently paying out in min debt repayments which isn't making a dent in my debt and leaving me with no money each month to live. I do need my car for work and also regularly fly back and forward to London for work (at my own expense) as well as renting a room down there whilst I am away for work.

I would be keen to set up a meeting with someone to look at my options and get more info on a DAS.

Many thanks!

Hi FlyingHigh. I always dreamed of becoming an airline pilot but had to give up the lessons when I bought my flat. I also dreamed of the mega bucks that comes with the role, but unfortunately they don't come as easy as they used to I'm led to believe. I'm not an expert but I would suggest that you be cautious about the trust deed option just now. If you have a TD agreed on your current salary. You may find when you salary does rise, that you won't see any personal benefit as you expenditure will most likely be the same. This would be particularly frustrating if does indeed double.

Hi Flyinghigh,

Thanks for this information.

A DAS works on the basis that you pay back your full debts and the timescale is determined by how much you can afford to pay per month. If your debts are £46,000 and you paid this back over 10 years then you would be looking at a payment in the region of £385 per month if you used a local CAB or free money advice agency. The timescale could be shorter if you can pay a bigger payment or when your income increases you can pay an increased amount.

To take things forward and arrange a meeting you just need to contact one of the experts or all three of us. We always tell clients it's best to speak with a couple of advisors to really get a feel for exactly how each option works as this can vary slightly from firm to firm on how they handle things.

The most important thing is whichever option you proceed with you need to ensure that you receive exactly how it will work in writing I.e. The payments, the timescale and what will happen when your income increases etc.

Is there anything at the moment which you are worried about regarding your situation?

Hi David,

There are a number of things that worry me about all the options that are available to me but I guess if you would be easier to talk talk about all of these face to face. I'll drop you a message 🙂

Thanks for the info.

Hi SkintAlly.

Yes it was always a dream of mine too and I managed to do it, but it has helped contribute to my crippling debt problems. Sadly the days of mega bucks in the industry are long gone, at least at the bottom of the career ladder. Thanks for the advise, I have a lot I need to find out about and consider but I certainly cannot continue to get by month on month with this level of debt, its just a black hole that is getting worse.

How much are you paying out to all your debts at the moment (not including the car finance)?

Lol, I know that feeling. I took to skies a few times compliments of MasterCard. Given that I ended up in a trust deed anyway. I sometimes wish I had just went all the way. I know a few guys that ended up in the same situation. My fall back career isn't too bad though so I shouldn't complain. Hope you get things sorted 🙂

Hi Kevin,

It is currently not far off £900 a month. The money situation wasn't as bad a few months ago but I have had to take a wage drop from £25,000 to £18,000 to secure a flying job leaving me no choice but to live off credit cards making the payments even worse. This wage could increase by a few K in the coming months and will double within 2 years which obviously causes concerns regarding a trust deed repayment if any extra wages I get in the future goes straight into the trust deed.

It does sound like a DAS may well be the most appropriate solution for you, flyinghigh.

Thanks Kevin. I have set up a meeting with David next week to discuss all my options 🙂

Hi Flyinghigh,

Thanks for getting in touch with me.

When we meet next I'll take you through all of your options in detail, the pros and cons, the payments per month and timescales and also any possible increase when your income changes and you can then pick the option that you feel best suits your circumstances.

Make a list of all of the things you are worried about or any questions that you have and we can work through these when we meet.

I look forward to meeting with you next week.

That's good then. All the best with whatever option you choose.