Interesting question Scotslad.

Had we not messed up our money we would never have been here. When we realiased we had to do something about our finances we came across this while researching TD's. Choose one of the firms on here the rest is in my signature. So glad we did find it made our life less stressful reading others are in the same situation with similar problems.

Hi scotslad

There seems to be a number of ways paeople choose a firm from a random cold calling phonecall, adverts on TV and radio to personal referrals. It would be good to think there was a failsfae method of choosing a decent firm, unfortunately I honestly don't think there is.

It's easy to say follow your instinct and logic would say avoid cold calls or even TV/Radio ads as you will no doubt be put to a call centre as the 1st line of advice. Unfortunately people can be in a vulnerable position and go for the thing that brings instant relief. Rarely is that the best option.

Lots of questions and ensure its confirmed in writing is always the best advice.

Mark

Like so many others I see posting on here, I never found the forum until after I had signed. My firm isn't one that gets much in the way of favourable posts about them and I'm sure I would have signed with someone else had I seen these posts beforehand. My TD is fairly straightforward with no assets to worry about so (touch wood) my TD has run pretty smoothly so far. I only found this forum from Googling concerns about the process once it was underway. I would have asked far more questions and taken some breathing space to get my head around it all had I been here beforehand.

I looked for a trust deed forum before signing my td but the best I could find at the time was a rather good and friendly iva website (which I am now a mod on).

This place is just as friendly and I am glad I searched again for trust deed forums!!

Paul

I found this site when trying to get advice when having problems with my trust deed. The advice here has been really useful. I wish I had found it before I signed. Like many I went the the first firm I came across (via CCCS) and I wish I had researched things first. I would probably have gone with one of the recommended firms on here instead. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

That's a good question, Scotslad.

Taking the long view, I guess what brought me here was seeing what used to go on in the high street bank where I worked, which gave me the push to switch careers and become a money adviser helping people with their debt problems, instead of helping to cause them. In turn I specialised in the insolvency side of things and moved to RSM Tenon. The attraction of this forum is that it gives me the chance to use all of this knowledge gained from these varous perspectives to reach a really wide audience and help a lot of people. Not a bad way at all to earn a living - certainly a lot better than trying to push people to take out credit in the first place.

You make a massive point thats very relevant to our case. I walked into our local tsb about 4 and a half years ago to discuss our financial situation with the manager. We were totally struggling and his advice was......another loan and extending the mortgage!!! I wanted help, not more money thrown at me. I was so angry I marched over the street into the local citizens advice bureau and got proper help.

This is the same bank who before I left the RAF wanted to offer me a massive mortgage using my RAF wage to calculate affordability even though I was due to take a 10k a year pay cut when I joined civvy street just 4 months later. Glad we werent stupid and took an affordable amount. Whats even better is I am still sitting on a 2.5% mortgage as thats the svr I was put on, guarenteed to be no more than 2% above the base rate for the life of the mortgage!!!

I hate lloydstsb with a passion.

Paul

plasticdaft

I'm curious - what were you looking for from your bank in theway of help? e.g did you ask for interest to be frozen to help repay your debts in full?

did you make it clear when comlpleting your mortgage application that you wanted them to calculate affordability on a lower income or did you assume they would know your income would be lower?

You did the right thing in not taking on any more debt or increase your debt but hardly the banks fault for offering a remortgage for I assume a consolidation loan as this suits many people.

You're entitled to your opinion but maybe sometimes we should provide some balance?

Regarding help I was hoping for a repayment plan,perhaps freezing of some interest and charges,to help repay what I owed over a longer period of time.

As for the mortgage application,they were well aware my wages were due to go down,but insisted it would be fine!!

I am not blaming the bank for my debts,they were mine and the wifes fault,but when you are struggling to make the minimum payment on credit cards and they continue to up your credit limit you kind of get sucked in,or at least we did. Plus them continually sending out credit card cheques to use.

Lets just say I dont like them as a bank.

except the SVR of my mortgage!!!

Paul

Go back a few years and things were very strange in the mortgage world.

We know plenty of mortgage brokers that used to be taken to lunch by reps from the lenders and be taught how to "finesse" (as polite as I can phrase it!) their own mortgage underwriting systems.

I used to be with Lloyds TSB and they did exactly the same thing. I asked about lower payments, etc but the person I saw said 'oh I'm sure we can do better than that, let me check our secured loan rates'. It wasn't long after this they refused a credit card transaction based on a £1 under payment on my bill. That prompted the trust deed and after a while, that's when I found this site.

I found this site just in time.

I had tried, and failed, to remortgage to sort out the debts that had become unmanageable.
I hadn't missed a payment on anything, but like a lot of others on here, I was robbing Peter to pay Paul.
It all came about due to us having an unexpected, though very welcomed, 4th child - a good 16yrs after our 1st and 8yrs ater our 3rd.
My partner had to give up her work after a serious bout of post-natal depression and I suppose I lied to myself over the following two years that I was coping with the bills.

Anyway, after being knocked back from every lender for loans or remortgages we tried, we were advised to look at PTD via one of the companies we had been using to find us another solution. I had never heard of it before to be honest.

When I say I found this place just in time, I mean I was a mail delivery away from signing with another company without even ever meeting anyone.
It was all done over the phone with an advisor rather than face to face with an actual qualified IP.

Not sure what made me search for a forum, but I am so glad I did.
When I read through a few threads on here, I realised what a mistake I was about to make!
I made contact with Mark and he arranged an appointment within a couple of days. It was scary just how many questions and facts that I hadn't asked or hadn't had confirmation on the answers from the other advisor.
Some that would have had me dreading the end of the PTD probably even more than the begining.
I did feel guilty, not only about not honouring my debts 100%, but in walking away from Company1 and going with Mark's company. Though I know now that it was without doubt the correct thing to do.

For my own mental health if nothing else.

Can't remember why I found this forum, must have been looking for an answer to something - but all I will say is that there are a few things I would have done differently had I found the site in time and not too late as it turned out 🙁

I think several posters are of similar mindset wikikee.

Paul