You should really cancel it as soon as the trust deed is signed, delboy69, as any payments after that date are meant to go through the trust deed to be shared out between all creditors in the correct proportions.

Thanks Kevin

Will cancel DD as soon as i sign. Hopefully by end this week.

Hi Delboy69,

As Kevin said, you should cancel them when you sign the Trust Deed.

Were you happy with everything that was discussed last night and is your Trust Deed over 36 months?

Before you know it your Trust Deed should be at the point of becoming protected and then you will be back on asking about your discharge and the Form 5. You will be surprised how quickly the 36 months will pass by for you.

Hi David

I was fairly happy with what they said last night. I should hear in day or 2. They said Trust Deed will be 48 months though, due to something about the initial (5 weeks or so) period taking in the new legislation date in Nov.

Hi Delboy69.

As far as I'm aware that information is plain wrong.

I believe it was recently confirmed on here that provided a trust deed is signed prior to the November date mentioned the option of a three year trust deed remains.

Hi Delboy69,

Really? At present you can enter into a 36 month Trust Deed and have that option available to you. This won't change until the 28th of November 2013. The protection period has nothing to do with the timescale involving your Trust Deed. Are you comfortable entering into a Trust Deed over 4 years when you have the option of a 3 year Trust Deed available to you?

Why is it you need to wait to hear in a day or 2 about a Trust Deed?

Thanks Amy

I will definately raise this issue with them.

Hi David

On the phone last night Knightbridge went through the legal obligation of discussing the pro's and cons of the various debt options available, after which i said i was happy with Trust Deed (I'v already had guy from Simple Financial out last week getting all the facts and figures for Trust Deed.) Think he forgot to take Mortgage statement so i emailed this to Knightbridge, which is where the slight delay may arisen i think. I'm actually fairly comfortable with 4 years as have been struggling financially for far longer period. But will still raise the 3-4 years issue with them before final signature.

Hi Delboy69,

Have Knightsbridge carried out a valuation of your property? Before you enter into anything with any firm you need to be very careful when it comes to your home. A trustee in a Trust Deed will have an interest in this and your home could be at risk as a result. A valuation from a Chartered Surveyor should always be carried out and a redemption figure obtained for your mortgage to calculate the level of equity in your property before you sign anything.

They should then confirm exactly in writing what if anything will happen to your home. It could be the case that your property does not have any equity and as such is at no risk. Did they speak about making any sort of payment to protect your property? Some firms charge £500 for this but the firms which the experts on the forum represent do not charge this.

If your property does have equity then an agreement needs to be reached as to how this will be dealt with and again a lengthy discussion regarding this should ideally take place in person.

All of this plus your monthly payment should be confirmed in writing prior to you signing. That way there should be no surprises and you home should not be at risk. This is the most important part of ensuring that the Trust Deed runs without any problems.

Make sure you clarify this with Knightsbridge and also ask them for a copy of the valuation to posted to you before you sign so you can see that a proper valuation has been carried out.

Good advice there from David regarding a valuation being done before signing.

The fact that they have said that you will have to pay for 4 years due to the change in legislation is ringing alarm bells with me to be honest. I appreciate that you say you are happy to do so, and that is fine. However, what they are saying is simply wrong and is that really any sound basis for a putting yourself in their hands for 4 years?

My suspicion is that your trust deed will not actually count as being signed until after 28th November because the first few payments are being retained by them as a set-up fee. I may be wrong and am happy to stand corrected if that is the case, but this is the kind of arrangement I have heard of before in connection with this firm. If this is the case then you should know that there is simply no need to pay such a fee. And you certainly shouldn't feel duty bound by the fact that you have already proceeded this far with them already - to my mind this is simply too important a decision on which to hold your breath and hope for the best, Delboy.

They are running a valuation of property. I'll make sure i see copy of this before signing.

They didn't mention anything about a payment to protect property (i think), but i'll raise issue to make sure.

Apppreciate the advice guys.

Sorry if I'm not being clear, delboy66, I don't mean a payment to protect the property. I was wondering whether they retain any of your first payments as an initial set-up fee for arranging your trust deed, ie separate from the contribution payments into your trust deed.

As I said I may be wrong, but I think it is worthwhile asking the question. This could potentially explain why they are basing the calculations on legislation that hasn't yet taken effect and will only do so for trust deeds signed after 28th November.