Hi weeyin71 and welcome to the forum.

The usual term of a trust deed is three years though there are circumstances where it can make sense for all parties to agree a longer term to make a trust deed viable. If yours has been agreed by you, your Trustee and your creditors at four years then that is the starting point for the term if nothing else changes.

Income alone isn't relevant to a trust deed payment. The calculation is income minus reasonable expenditure. That does mean that someone with a very large income but also high reasonable expenses might pay the same (or even less) as someone with a much lower income.

Were your debt repayments less than £150 per month before the trust deed started?

If your circumstances changed as a result of decisions that you have made and your payment had to reduce it's likely that the trust deed would be extended so that the creditors still receive the amount that they agreed to originally. If a change of circumstances is outside of your control (and means you cannot pay as much) there is more latitude for your Trustee to consider not requiring an increased term.

I think the biggest proportion of what you are paying will be your trustees fees and unfortunately these will not go away. The fees can vary from £3500 to above the £7200 that you will pay and this won't leave much for your creditors. It maybe a bit late now, but I don't a TD would have been your best option, especially if you struggle to make the £150 payment. The reason that your TD is for 4 years is to put enough money in the pot to make it viable for the creditors after the trustee has taken his fee.

Hi weeyin71

I am disappointed that any company would suggest a Trust Deed with this level of income. Especially if part of the £500 is made up of Child Tax Credits.

Do you have any assets, house, car etc which would point the company towards a Trust Deed.

Mark

This is ridiculous - you are paying nearly a third of your income towards your TD?

Surely your TD company must have gone through an income/expenditure form with you which would include food, clothing, rent, bills etc?

Trust Deed Assistant .... Prior to being in a trust deed I was in a debt Management program, I was paying £120 per month with only £10 a month being taken off for the fees so £110 was being disributed to my Creditors. After recieving a call from a company they had actually advised that a trust deed would be the better option because of complications that could come with a debt management company, the advisor had me so concerned that that convinced me to enter the Trust deed.

SkintAlly ..... A good portion of the amount being paid to the trust deed company does make up their fees, It is roughly what you had calculated out. My ex husband had entered into a trust deed,He had £21k of debt he was paying a total of £170/ mth over 3 yrs, by the time that the fees came off for the company he was with it ended up that it was only pennies that went to the creditors. I think it should be a standard thing across the board for the fees being charged from these companies.

The did go through an income and expenditure but because my expenditure was so low, they said my husband would have to pay more so I had more expenditure.

quote:

---

Originally posted by tinsoldier

This is ridiculous - you are paying nearly a third of your income towards your TD?

Surely your TD company must have gone through an income/expenditure form with you which would include food, clothing, rent, bills etc?

---

Mark... My income for that time was made up from Child Tax, Child Benefit (1 child) and my wages, being only part time I take home an amount of £292 per month. I do not have any assets. On the income and expenditure this was done but the trust deed company said that i did not have enough of an expenditure to comply with their payments, they therefor took what i was responsible for and said that my husband would have to pay more towards household bills etc, this was on top of what he already paid towards the household bills and his own creditors.
And the end of the day i felt pressured to sign up with this company and it was not till afterwards when I had time to reflect over it that i realised I had made a huge mistake 🙁

I am now looking at trying to get another part time job to try and increase my income slightly, but going by what i was told from the comapny i am with, the extra company would go straight to the trust deed to pay what i owe.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mark McFadyen

Hi weeyin71

I am disappointed that any company would suggest a Trust Deed with this level of income. Especially if part of the £500 is made up of Child Tax Credits.

Do you have any assets, house, car etc which would point the company towards a Trust Deed.

Mark

---

I'd ask the experts what the positives and negatives would be for you considering bankruptcy, although I think your trustee would have a big say in this. If you have nothing to lose then this might help you.

It does sound like sequestration would have made more sense in your scenario, weeyin71 - unless there are other factors involved. Do you live with a partner?

Regardless of this, you are in a trust deed now, so either you will need to comply with it, or go bankrupt instead (though you will need your trustee to cooperate in order for this to happen). Given your circumstances, I'd have thought there would be a good chance that if you went bankrupt you might not have to make any contribution and would be discharged after 1 year. Worth discussing with your trustee maybe?

I had asked about bankruptcy but they said that that really wasnt an option due to my circumstances which i thought strange. I had also enquired about a LILA at the same time.

quote:

---

Originally posted by SkintAlly

I'd ask the experts what the positives and negatives would be for you considering bankruptcy, although I think your trustee would have a big say in this. If you have nothing to lose then this might help you.

---

Hi Kevin,

I do live with a partner, Not sure if you have seen the other posts i have replied to on this topic but I have explained what had happened in regards to my partner.
Going on your advice and the advice of others, i think i will be looking into the bankruptcy scene again but this time look into everything in more detail instead of signing because of pressure.
Many Thanks

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kevin Mapstone

It does sound like sequestration would have made more sense in your scenario, weeyin71 - unless there are other factors involved. Do you live with a partner?

Regardless of this, you are in a trust deed now, so either you will need to comply with it, or go bankrupt instead (though you will need your trustee to cooperate in order for this to happen). Given your circumstances, I'd have thought there would be a good chance that if you went bankrupt you might not have to make any contribution and would be discharged after 1 year. Worth discussing with your trustee maybe?

---

Hi weeyin71.

Bankruptcy will only be an option if your trust deed is terminated by your Trustee.

You'd therefore be well advised to discuss your concerns about your trust deed with them at this point in time and also to seek their views about the possibility of becoming bankrupt as well.

For your reference, LILA (low income low assets) is a "route" to becoming bankrupt rather than being an alternative to bankruptcy. A failed trust deed is also a route to bankruptcy.

While you have told us about your income we're obviously not fully aware of your full household income and expenditure details. You should be aware that if you become bankrupt an assessment will be made as to whether you can afford to contribute towards your debts (as it is for a trust deed). If it's believed that you can afford to make a payment each month, that payment will run for three years.

Going by all the info and advice, i am going to look into Bankruptcy, Thanks everyone for all the input given. I just wish i had known about this forum before I entered into it.
Thanks again 🙂