My Trust Deed term has complete – What next?
Providing that you have met the obligations of your Trust Deed, you’ll be discharged at the end of the term stated in your proposal when you take out a Trust Deed with Trust Deed Scotland.
The completion process shouldn’t take too long, and if you’ve been waiting more than a month then it’s worth calling your insolvency practitioner to find out when you can expect to be discharged. You’ll know for certain that you have been discharged once it’s recorded on the Register of Insolvencies online.
How long will it take for your Credit File to be updated?
Once you have been discharged from your Trust Deed, you are officially free from the debt you had included in the plan, and this should be reflected in your credit score within 3 months of completion.
If your debts are not shown as being satisfied within this time, you should contact your creditors and request them to update your credit file. Once this has been done, you can begin rebuilding your credit. How long it will take for your credit file to be updated can vary. If you do something about your credit rating the sooner, the better.
How long will it take to obtain credit, and how will this affect Interest Rates?
Depending on the length of your Scottish Trust Deed term, you may find it difficult to obtain credit for the next year or two after Trust Deed completion. It may also be that you are only offered higher interest rates during this period. Rebuilding your credit takes patience, but a Trust Deed enables you to start again with a blank canvas, and will ultimately make the process easier for you. 6 years after your Trust Deed started, it will no longer show on your credit file.
What steps should you take once your Trust Deed has been completed?
After completing your Trust Deed, you’ll find that your monthly disposable income has increased. It may be tempting to start spending in a more relaxed manner, but it’s particularly important at this stage to start putting away a little money a month for an emergency fund. Unmanageable debt is often caused by unexpected costs, resulting from things such as ill-health, essential home repairs, and redundancy; an emergency fund can often be a great help in circumstances such as these. Find out more about our tips for managing your finances in 2017.
It may also be helpful to speak to an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) about your finances in the long term. They can offer advice on financial issues such as mortgage payments and pension options.
How do you rebuild your Credit Score?
There are many things you can do to successfully rebuild your credit score including:
✅ Spread out applications for credit
✅ Get a credit card with the lowest possible interest
✅ Make small monthly purchases on the credit card and clear them in full to avoid building up debt again
✅ Ensure that you are on the electoral roll
✅ Check your credit file for any inaccuracies, and if you find any, ask the relevant company to fix them
✅ Don’t take out joint finances with anyone who has poor credit
✅ If you had a reason for not making payments, such as hospitalisation or redundancy, ask for a notice of correction to be put on your credit file. (These do not have to be taken into consideration but may make a difference to some lenders if you can justify late payments that have affected your credit.)
✅ If you have a Trust Deed which is almost complete, why not leave a review of your experience?
If you’re thinking about filing for a Trust Deed and would like more information, try our Trust Deed Wizard tool to see how we can help.
Is a Protected Trust Deed a good idea?
Only you can decide if a Protected Trust Deed is a good idea, after getting all the facts needed for you to make an informed decision based on your own needs and affordability.
We would answer this question firstly by directing you to our Trust Deed Scotland reviews page. Our existing customers will tell more about the experience with us than we can do ourselves. However, our debt advice team aim to give you the information and let you decide if a formal debt solution is right for you.
Trust Deeds can, of course, be a valuable way of helping people to achieve a brighter future but they are not suitable for everyone.
Other alternative debt management solutions exist in Scotland such as the Debt Arrangement Scheme. Call us today on 01412210999 for confidential, tailored debt advice.
Find out more about Is A DAS Worth It?, alongside Are Trust Deeds A Good Idea?