Would You Believe It!!

[maryhillgull]

Emo67

 

Rory is right if the trust deed is still in force then the money will be kept by the bank (although you should inform your trustee as they will want to know).

 

However if the deed has been formally discharged then the bank cannot keep the money as the debt no longer exists, if this is the case then I would contact the bank and your trustee and failing that I would contact the court.

 

Cheers

[maryhillgull]

Whilst the deed is still in-force and this will be until the discharge has been registered which can take up to 9 months after the actual deed has finished, any assets can be taken by the trustee. They would not normally take money after the three years but they have the power to do so if they believe the money should have been available to trust. Trusts are very compicated and are also very restricting!!!! And should not be entered into without a lot of thought as ALL your assets belong to the trust.

 

Yes it would definitely be better to wait until the discharge has been lodged before beginning any action against the banks. On the other hand it may be better to counter claim the banks before getting into the deed and either avoid the deed alltogether (BEST) or reduce the debt going into the deed. Which may not be as good as it sounds because payments would be the same anyway.

 

Once the deed is discharged the debt is gone so in theory the money is yours however the banks may have other ideas and use scare tactics to try and convince you otherwise. There may be some legal recourse open to the banks as you may be claiming back 100% of charges that you only paid 60% of via the deed, but I have not found anything todate, but someone with a better understanding of scottish law/Deed law may know better.

 

The problem with deeds is that trying to get credit afterwards in almost impossible. you are actually better off after voluntary sequestration (although of course you may have lost your hosue). These companies that tell you the Deed will solve all your problems and take a large admin fee to set it up for you are the same ones that then get you the "best deal" on your re-mortgage at whopping 9% interest.

 

perhaps we should pool our Deed Knowledge and get a sticky post advising people with Deeds what the best course of action is!

[maryhillgull]

Deneedenee

 

As A&L are not part of your trust they will not be able to keep your bank charges refund unless of course you owe them money say an o/d in which case they will almost certainly deduct this from you refund.

 

HOWEVER when you enter into a trust deed you in effect for the term of the trust (usually three years) sign over all your current and future assets to the trustee including your salary, house, car and possessions and any windfalls i.e lottery wins inheritances etc and I believe a refund of charges would almost certainly be regarded as such and would need to be placed in the trust.

 

The trustee has discretion with regards to which assets are kept in trust things like cars which you need to do your job, unless they are brand new and paid for are usually disregarded because there value at the end of the trust is not usually enough to warrant them being sold. The same goes for furniture and electrical goods because they are just not worth the effort of selling. You are allowed to keep a portion of your salary to pay for bills rent/mortgage etc. The rest is usually placed into the trust with regular monthly payments.

 

So if you recieve a sum of money (in this case the refund) you are duty bound to notify the trustee. This is usually done via 6 monthly updates where you fill in a questionaire detailing income and outgoings. You could of course decide not to tell the trustee and I'm sure many many people do do this i.e over-exagerate outgoings under-estimate salary (pay slips are usually checked). BUT the outcome could be very serious with the trustee ending up sequestering(sic) you and thus seizing all your assets and leaving you up "pooh river without a propulsion device" or more likely extending the term of the trust and forcing you to pay more money in from your salary.

 

I know this leaves you between a rock and a hard place and I'm sure that the money from A&L would mean a big difference and make some things in life easier but please be aware what could happen if you do not tell the trustee and they find out, remember they can ask for bank statements from you.

 

This is becoming a bit of a ramble but two more things:

 

1. You may be able to argue that the money is merely replacing money you should not have paid and is therfore not a windfall but I'm not sure how easy this would be.

 

2. You are entitled to make repairs to property/assets etc and you could say the money is needed for this.

 

Cheers