Welcome to the forum Pinkveggie.

I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling so down about all of this. Your health and wellbeing are the most important things here. I do hope that you reach out for support from family, friends or your doctor.

Your trust deed payment should be based upon affordability, it's as simple as that. You cannot pay over money that you don't have.

This may have consequences of course, for example the failure of your trust deed. That's not necessarily the most important thing here though.

Have you asked your trustee to supply you with the copy of your income and expenditure from which they've worked out that your current payment is affordable?

thank you but I cannot cope with it failing so I was in debit payment scheme and paid in thousands before going into the trust deed, I dont have family or friends who can help and I cannot cope with then having to go bankrupt and pay even more thousands, it all feels so hopeless but I just want to pay what i can afford honestly then get out of this debt, its not the simple solution i was told it was

It's not hopeless at all Pinkveggie. There's always a way to sort it out.

Your trust deed payment should be based upon affordability. If your income and expenditure is genuinely such that you cannot afford to pay anything into a trust deed then that's just how it is.

If that were the case you wouldn't have to make any contribution in bankruptcy, other than the £200 application fee (and assuming you own no significant assets).

The key point is to get a copy of the income and expenditure statement that your trustee is using. If it's wrong, point out the errors so that adjustments are made. If there's no spare cash after your bills and expenses there's really no point in you or your trustee pretending otherwise.

I cannot afford £200 for bankrupcy, if I could I would not be so stressed,

TDA thanks for taking the time to reply but it did not really help sorry but I do appreciate you trying. I am stuffed now whatever I do as no-one seems to be able to tell me what the lowest monthly payment I can make into the trust deed and they want details of our work pensions now

This going into a trust deed has been so the wrong thing for me

Bankruptcy may be your best option, Pinkveggie, and as Trust Deed Assistant says, it probably will not be nearly as bad as you fear. Do you own your house or any other significant assets?

As you say, a trust deed may not have been your best route after all, given your change in circumstances, but I am sure that if you speak to your trustee you will be able to find a way to resolve the situation one way or another.

thanks Kevin, but due to my job I cannot do bankrupcy and yes I do own my own home (in negativ equity) and I never expected my change in income so soon after setting up the trust deed and I have never even spoken to my trustee! SO i am kind of really stuck without a clue and no idea if they are going to try to take our pensions now too, so annoyed at myself for getting us into this, hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Hi Pinkveggie.

A home in negative equity wouldn't normally be an issue in bankruptcy; it's a great shame that your employment might stand in the way.

When you refer to pensions do you mean the money that has been saved into there, or have you started to draw on your pension?

Pension funds that have been saved up are generally protected, but it might be different if you're now intending to draw an income or take a lump sum from it.

Hi Pinkveggie,

I'm sorry to read of the difficulties you are now having due to the change in your circumstances.

At the point you entered the Trust Deed it should have worked as agreed if it weren't for the reduction in income and change in your financial circumstances which are out with your control so try not to beat yourself up about it too much or that you may have made the wrong decision. The positive to focus on at the moment is that the Trust Deed has provided you with legal protection and breathing space from your creditors.

The first thing you should do is pick up the phone and speaking with your relationship manager or even your Trustee. Tell them that you are financial struggling and the reasons why and ask them to work through an updated income and expenditure with you. By doing this they will be able to see what you can now afford to pay.

As others have said if your income has reduced then you cannot be asked to make a payment to the Trust Deed that you cannot afford. If your are really struggling you always have the option of cancelling the payment to avoid getting into further debt with your mortgage, council tax, utilities etc. I'd always advise speaking with your Trustee first though before doing this but I wouldn't like for your situation to get worse trying to make the Trust Deed payment each month.

Are you 100% sure that if you were to consider Bankruptcy that your job would be at risk? If you can it's maybe something to look at in your contract or even speak with your HR department if that's possible to make 100% sure. I realise though that it can be a difficult subject to discuss with an employer.

If it was the case that you could go into Bankruptcy and your job would be secure then you would only pay what you could reasonably afford to pay. If this was £40 or £50 per month then this is all you would pay for 36 months. To get into Bankruptcy though your Trustee would either need to apply for your Bankruptcy or release you from the Trust Deed and then you could go down that route yourself. The £200 application fee can be paid up in instalments.

thank you David for your reply, it is helpful. I am not going for bankrupcy 100% certain of that so will speak to the trustee.

Hi Pinkveggie,

Your welcome.

Let us know how you get on once you have spoken with your Trustee.