If you only income is benefits I would be strongly suggesting bankruptcy rather than a trust deed. But to answer your points.

1/ Recent debt or historic debt,its all debt so creditors may well accept a trust deed.

2/ Yes if your income is limited to benefits,it may not be possible to get a trust deed accepted(but many companies will still manage to get one accepted by creditors).

3/ If funds are limited the said companies mentioned above may well try and get you to agree to pay over 48 months or longer,if anyone suggests this its possibly just so they can benefit from extra fees.

Is your medical condition likely to improve to allow you to get back to work?

There will be a solution out there for your problems.

Paul

There will be a solution but PLEASE make sure you deal initially with a reputable firm such as the ones represented here on this forum. Check back through some posts to find some personal recommendations to be sure you're dealing with efficient practitioners who will give you the best advice.

Sort out all your paperwork, make notes about what you need to spend each month, make an appointment with at least one firm (don't be afraid to get a second opinion) to go over everything. Get everything in writing and ask as many questions as you need to.

First step is taken, time to stop worrying now.

Hi MMY51

Sound advice from both plasticdaft and uncleben. Uncleben describes the first step as being taken, the next step to ease the worries will be to make an appointment(s) to discuss the position and the options and then once you are aware of the options make an informed decision of either Sequestration (bankruptcy) or a Trust Deed (if appropriate).

A sound point about ensuring that a Trust Deed is run over the right length of time and not just for IP fees is made by plasticdaft.

Chris

Hi MMY51

From the information provided, sequestration is the obvious way forward as there is no income except benefit income.

Best sit with someone to run through the process which is quite straightforward. There would be no contribution as your only source of income is benefits.

Mark

Mark

Hello MMY51 and welcome to the forum.

I tend to agree that a trust deed might not be the best way forwards for you.

There is a risk that it could turn into a struggle to make the payments each month.

That risk doesn't exist with bankruptcy as, if you remain on benefit income only, no contributions will be required.

I wonder if anyone can offer an explanation as to the benefits position. I fully agree that if someone is receiving benefits then they probably would not earn enough to make a contribution, given that benefits payments are generally enough to live on and no more, rather than the generous handouts for foreign holidays that Daily Mail readers think.

However, if someone on benefits is in financial difficulty and forced to complete the ream of paperwork to get a crisis loan, then the DWP seem happy to deduct quite signficant amounts from a benefit (even Jobseekers allowance which is a whopping £67.50 per week).

I know there is no interest charged on these loans but how does the DWP justify taking deductions when a Trustee can't?

Our experts may be able to offer some insight on this uncleben.

My understanding is that Scottish politicians and bureaucrats have concluded that, in terms of bankruptcy at least, deductions should not be made from benefits (to help repay creditors or cover the fees involved).

Westminster politicians and bureaucrats don't seem to have reached the same conclusion about crisis loans and benefits.
I guess the problem is that if there is no way for someone to pay the money back (because they are on benefits) it wouldn't be possible to offer the loan?

The same situation exists with overpayment of benefits - they are clawed back from ongoing benefits in a similar way to which a crisis loan is paid.

I suppose that there has to be some way to have crisis loans repaid, and at least the person should be fully aware of the cost when applying.