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Scottish Trust Deed Forum
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Topic starter
23/09/2021 9:28 am
Hi all. Long time lurker and first time poster here. My husband and I entered a protected trust deed at the ripe old age of 23 after we bought a house and went credit crazy. Anyway we have had a long road but light at the end of the tunnel as we were personally discharged last year and defaults are starting to fall off. Credit is currently still horrific but I’m expecting it to rise with a sensibly used credit builder credit card and a credit clean up ( which I am in the midst of doing). Most companies are pretty happy to update my default date to my PTD signed date ( Barr a few being a bit more difficult). Anyway, during the term of my TD I realised I really could not afford my monthly car payments and I handed my car back after my trustee agreed I could add the outstanding balance of the car ( approx 2.5k) to my trust deed. VW finance can be seen to have submitted a claim which was agreed. However, I have been having a lot of hassle with them for the past few months. Every month they have notified credit reporting agencies a fresh missed payment - I have called them about six times, speaking approx an hour each time and it’s just not getting through to them. They originally said they washed their hands of my balance and it was now being dealt with my Blake Morgan as they didn’t understand trust deeds ( find it very odd for a financial company not to have employed anyone with this type of knowledge). When I called Blake Morgan they told me that they closed this case as they had proof of my being in a protected trust deed.l and it’s back in VW hands. Calling VW again they have said they haven’t had any information or proof of my discharge ( despite me knowing for a fact they did as my trustee sent new letters and the last advisor actually read out one of the letters). I am just so frustrated as on my credit reports it looks like I’ve not paid a car payment since 2017 which is dragging my credit score down - they have never added a default. Am I right in saying since I have been discharged from my trust deed my credit file with VW finance should reflect this by the balance being £0 and the report stating settled or satisfied?
Any help greatly appreciated Thank you
23/09/2021 9:46 am
Hi Carolyn and welcome to the trust deed forum. Congratulations on completing your trust deeds.
In this answer I'm presuming that the VW Finance arrangement was in place when your trust deed began? This seems highly likely as I assume they wouldn't have offered the finance if your trust deed was already in place.
My suggestion would be to make a formal complaint to VW Finance and provide them with proof of your discharge (Form 5) at the same time. Making a complaint often results in more empowered and better trained people taking a look at your concerns.
It certainly seems as though the balance owed should be set to zero on your credit report at the point you were discharged.
Usually a default notice should be applied to your credit report no later than the trust deed began. I doubt that applies in this instance as you did not in fact default on the payments until later. It feels as though a default notice should have been issued at the point that the vehicle was handed back and you were not making direct payment towards the balance owed, though I'm not 100% sure that this is the case. It certainly feels as though a default notice should have been issed by the time that they submitted their claim to your trustee.
I therefore think they should be adding a default notice to your credit report at an appropriate point in time (they can backdate this on your credit report) and that they should then mark it as being partially satisifed (though some will mark it as satisfied) at the point at which you were discharged.
The default notice should fall off your credit report six years after it was issued, which in this case seems likely to be after your other creditors have fallen off.
If you're unhappy with the way that VW Finance deals with your complaint you could take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You could also take it to the Information Commissioners Office because incorrect credit reporting is a data protection issue.
Qualified Debt Adviser & Forum Administrator - Ask me anything about Trust Deeds 
Topic starter
23/09/2021 9:50 am
Thanks very much that’s very helpful 🙂 I will send a copy of my form 5 today.
Carolyn
23/09/2021 9:52 am
Good luck with this Carolyn.
It would be great if you could let us know how this all works out.
I cannot remember the topic of credit reporting, for vehicle finance introduced part-way through a trust deed, being raised here in the past. It would be interesting to know the outcome in case the topic arises again.
Qualified Debt Adviser & Forum Administrator - Ask me anything about Trust Deeds
Topic starter
30/09/2021 4:00 pm
I will do! It’s definitely proving difficult as VW finance keep telling me to contact Blake Morgan, and Blake Morgan are telling me they have received my form 5 and advised VW of this so hopefully I’ll have a more positive update in the coming weeks!
Am I right in saying as long as I have a form 5, I am personally discharged from my trust deed? My trustee have said they will be discharged in April 2022 which is causing a lot of confusion with VW.
30/09/2021 4:14 pm
Hi Carolyn,
Technically you are personally discharged when the Register of Insolvencies is updated using the details from your Form 5. You can check this easily enough online (and you can point it out to VW Finance and/or Blake Morgan so they can confirm it for themselves).
So yes, you are personally discharged and you can expect to have your credit record updated accordingly.
Your trustee's discharge will come later, but that's irrelevant to what the credit reference agencies should report about you now.
Qualified Debt Adviser & Forum Administrator - Ask me anything about Trust Deeds
Topic starter
30/09/2021 4:28 pm
Thank you very much that’s great!
