Hello Andrea73 and welcome to the trust deed forum.

As you're on an informal debt management plan it certainly makes sense to switch to something more formal that will give you some protection. The CCCS DMP neither protects you from creditor legal action nor guarantees that interest will be frozen.

When you did the review with CCCS suggest that there should be any change to your current £239 monthly payment?

The situation regarding equity in your home appears to be very important. If there is £10000 of equity you may need to find it in addition to the monthly contributions to a trust deed. That can be extremely difficult, mortgage lenders are highly unlikely to offer a new mortgage to release this equity for example.

However, it's possible that a valuation of your home might reveal that this amount of equity does not exist. The valuations used for trust deeds often come in a little lower than people expect, so equity might not be the issue that it seems to be.

The key thing will be to not sign trust deeds until a valuation has been done so that you know where you stand. If there is lots of equity the debt arrangement scheme may well be a better option for you as retaining the home is a priority.

There are some companies around, including those represented here by Kevin, Shona and Chris, that are able to provide assistance with trust deeds and the debt arrangement scheme. That type of company might be a good starting point for you so that options are kept open until the situation with equity is clarified.

Hello Andrea 73

TDA makes some very good points about:

a. informal Debt Management Plans v Debt Arrangement Scheme in particular in relation to the cessation of interest charges and protection from further action.

b. Valuation of the property - Trust Deed and ensuring before signing any formal agreement ensuring the the valuation has been undertaken and getting written assurances about the way ahead.

It looks as though you would benefit from sitting down with either of the companies on this website or any other Insolvency Practitioner who will deal directly with you rather than a call centre.

Chris Wardle

I have a question, im thinking about going down the route of a trust deed as i have a debt management plan set up but not signed yet or agreed as im not 100% with what i need to do yet. Im £26,000 in debt and are constantly in a circle of living off credit cards as i dont have enough money to cover my debt i need to pay like rent and credit cards and all i do is use my credit cards again to buy food etc. Its been a total struggle and now dont know what to do.

The cccs advise that i have a debt management plan which will leave £91 money left after paying priority bills towards debt for the next 25yrs which means ill be left with about £5 each month for myself to do anything, this isnt feasable and means i will have no way of living until im 58yrs old.

I cant guarantee ill be i the same job for another 25yrs, if i go down the trust deed route at least this will allow me to pay my debt back at an amount i can afford and still have a life.

Can anyone advise what the best option is and also how this affects me?

Thanks

I'm sure TDA will post with the detail but in a trust deed, you only pay what you can afford for a fixed period (normally 3 years) and the rest is written off and you start afresh, albeit with a poor credit rating that you then need to rebuild.

The whole point of a trust deed is that it is affordable so £5 left would simply not happen if it's set up correctly.

Why not contact one of the guys from the companies on this site and talk it through?

Cheers

DebtFreeWannabee

And I just wanted to say...

25 years!!!

...a life sentence for murder would be less than that!

quote:

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Originally posted by Coopersmum78

I have a question, im thinking about going down the route of a trust deed as i have a debt management plan set up but not signed yet or agreed as im not 100% with what i need to do yet. Im £26,000 in debt and are constantly in a circle of living off credit cards as i dont have enough money to cover my debt i need to pay like rent and credit cards and all i do is use my credit cards again to buy food etc. Its been a total struggle and now dont know what to do.

The cccs advise that i have a debt management plan which will leave £91 money left after paying priority bills towards debt for the next 25yrs which means ill be left with about £5 each month for myself to do anything, this isnt feasable and means i will have no way of living until im 58yrs old.

I cant guarantee ill be i the same job for another 25yrs, if i go down the trust deed route at least this will allow me to pay my debt back at an amount i can afford and still have a life.

Can anyone advise what the best option is and also how this affects me?

Thanks

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Have a look at bankruptcy as well,its not a scary as you may think!!

Paul

Hello Coopersmum78.

Facing a 25 year DMP, looking at the alternatives certainly makes sense.

So we can give you some information and alternatives could you tell us please:

Could you confirm that the debts are in your name only?

How much did CCCS suggest you pay into the debt management plan each month?

If you own any assets (like a house or car) could you tell us the equity that's in them (for example, value minus mortgages for your home, value of a car you own outright etc).

Hi coopersmum78

25 years? It's difficult to see how this is the best solution. Could you give more info on assets, equity etc and hopefully we can advise further.

Mark