Hi again worriedme.

The first thing to do will be to take advice from someone properly qualified to give it to you. You could get in touch with a Money Adviser or your local CAB, a trust deed firm you know that you have reason to trust, Mark/Kevin/Shona who represent their trust deed firms here, or my colleagues in the site advice team would be happy to help.

Any of these sources of advice would talk through your current circumstances with you. By gathering some information and asking you some questions these sources of advice would be able to tell you about the range of options that you qualify for and which appear to be suitable. They should also inform you about the pros and cons attached to each of them.

The aim is to put you in a position to make an educated decision on how to proceed from here.

Hi worriedme

Trust Deed Assistant is correct. Best advice would be to sit down and run through all the options and see what best suits.

I know it may sound daunting, however meetings are relaxed and basically a question and answer session. It will allow you to look at all the pros and cons and see what best suits.

It's the unknown which terrifies people, but in all honestly there are few hurdles which can't be overcome with a little help.

Regards

Mark

for me and my husband the trust deed was the only option that made sence.its so important to meet your potential trustee,ask lots of questions,even if you think they are silly,clarify everything re equity ,car and any other assets and go with your gut instincts.a good trustee will give you time and space to think and absolutly not pressurise you into signing anything before all of above is in writing.that way signing becomes the easy part as then you know exactly were you all stand and trust deed begins.monthly payments begin,calls and letters eventualy stop and you start to feel human again!!also you can be sure in the knowledge that there will be no surprises at the end re equity etc... as everything was done at the begining..good luck

Thanks Cal, it's nice to get advice and reassurance. I took step 1 today and have been emailing lots of questions. Am so impressed with how quickly I got answers to my questions. Already feeling slightly less anxious. Next step on Tuesday. This forum most definitely helps too.

Well done on taking the first step worriedme; thats probably the hardest part of the process out of the way now.

hi worriedme,i agree re site!!roll on tues ...write all your questions down so you dont forget ...even if youve asked the same question before ,its best to ask everything at face to face meeting as it only serves to make you feel better and your trustee will only be to happy to answer them.good luck and post how you get on.

Just remember that the decision is yours worriedme, weigh up the pros and cons of each option and choose the one that is best for you - not necessarily what anybody else tells you you should do.

Ask as many questions as you can worriedme,and any that you forget to ask,throw them up on here and someone will gladly help you out. Dont sign anything until you are totally happy that you fully understand everything. It can be too easy to grab any lifeline that comes along only to find out later than it maybe isnt the best option for you.

Paul

Ok, so I've got through the first phone call and asked lots of questions. So far so good. Having read some of tonight's posts there is mention of opening a basic bank account before a TD is signed. What exactly is a basic bank account and can I still do DDs from this and can I still have a cheque book? Should I then use this account for my salary to be paid into? Any Recommended banks? thanks for all your comments and support so far, much appreciated.

I was advised to set up a bank account with any bank that I didn't have any debts connected to. I eventually went with Nationwide. Because I failed a credit check when opening it, I wasn't allowed to have a cheque book or debit card - just a cash card to get money out of the machines. I couldn't open an account in branch and had to apply by post because of the failed credit cheque. This just meant waiting an extra few days for it all to happen. After 6 months a debit card appeared in the post so I'm presuming a decent track record of not going into the red must have helped (although I can't be certain as I never asked in case it was a mistake!). There was no issue with transferring my direct debits over to this account and I have all the normal facilities such as internet banking with them. Not that I would want one, but there was no overdraft option with a poor credit rating either. I've had this account since the start of my TD over a year ago and haven't had any issues with them at all so would recommend them (as long as you don't have any debts with them!).

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Originally posted by worriedme

Ok, so I've got through the first phone call and asked lots of questions. So far so good. Having read some of tonight's posts there is mention of opening a basic bank account before a TD is signed. What exactly is a basic bank account and can I still do DDs from this and can I still have a cheque book? Should I then use this account for my salary to be paid into? Any Recommended banks? thanks for all your comments and support so far, much appreciated.

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A basic account is a no frills bank account which usually have no overdraft facility and often no cheque book(who uses cheques nowadays).
You have to pick someone you dont owe money to(I assume your current bank is one company you are in debt with). Yes you get your salary switched as soon as you get an account open. I use the co operative bank you can phone them to open an account,its called a cashminder and comes with a visa delta card and online banking and you can set up direct debits and standing orders etc. You can pay money etc in at post offices so you dont need a branch nearby.

A few other banks do a basic account as well but the embarassment of asking at the counter of our local clydesdale bank to be shuffled into the managers office and treated like a criminal meant I wanted to phone other banks and not go into branch!!

Hope this helps.

Paul

Hope that helps

Thanks for your prompt responses. I have an account already with Santander, no money owed, so could I just use this instead of my current account with Clydesdale? Would just need to switch salary and DDs then.

Run the account by your chosen insolvency firm to make sure its ok to use.

Paul

Hi all

I have set up a new bank account with natwest to get my salary paid into and changed my direct debits..but got a letter from them to say there getting takenover with santander in the near future who my previous account is with and owe money to ie loan,overdraft and credit card.will i need to change banks again or will be okay because ive done it with natwest not santander??