Morto

The important thing I want you to understand is that is help available and you have made the first step in getting this sorted.

I am confident that once you speak you will have a better understanding on the solutions available and will hopefully made you feel that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you being open and honest.

Welcome to the forum Morto.

I think many people reading this will have experienced the same fears and anxieties when working out how to deal with their debts.

There's no need to fear handing over money to a licensed insolvency practitioner handling your trust deed. They're highly regulated, your money will be segregated and audited, and if the worst were to happen it's also insured.

My suggestion would be to take your time and make sure you understand everything before you make a decision to proceed.

Hi Morto

I always think that this is the hardest part of the process. It sounds like you have probably been trying so hard to keep on top of payments etc that to "give up" and switch to an insolvency route such as a Trust Deed is quite a mental hurdle to overcome.

Take your time, ask plenty of questions, and keep in mind what the alternatives are. It may feel that changing tack like this is wrong, but is it really realistic to carry on struggling without a clear end date?

Hi Morto and welcome to the forum.

Well done in reaching out for help and advice to deal with your debts. As others have said that’s often the hardest thing to do.

How much debt do you think you have in total?

Also, do you have any assets?

Try not to beat yourself up too much about having debt and considering a Trust Deed to deal with this. For the majority of people that find themselves financially struggling I think it just comes down to life. Having kids, changing jobs, reduction in income, ill health, redundancy and also cost of living and zero hours contracts are all factors.

The positive thing is that there are solutions available to help you manage the debt and give you a more affordable payment per month. Remember that a Trust Deed is a proposal made to your creditors so they get the change to say yes or not. My point here is even although you want to pay it all back the lenders are happy to accept a reduced payment per month and write off the remaining balance as long as your proposal meets their criteria. The majority of Trust Deed proposals are accepted as firms know what lenders like and don't like.

In addition to the Trust Deed there is also the Debt Arrangement Scheme. This would repay all of your debts so you do have options.

The most important thing to do is talk about all of your options, make sure any payment you agree to pay is affordable and you understand everything. There is also no harm in seeking a second opinion and I’m sure one of the experts here would be happy to help.