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Life after a Trust Deed and Rebuilding Your Credit History

While so much is written about how to get out of debt once you’re in it, there is comparably less written about how to stay remain debt-free once you’re rid of it. Completing a trust deed will, ultimately, be an experience that conjures mixed feelings – the obvious feelings of relief that come from emerging out of a period of sustained financial difficulty accompany a sense of self-worth and pride that we can often lose during hard times. But along with these feelings comes an unavoidable anxiousness – what is the next step now that I am debt free? How do I begin to rebuild my financial status? What is a realistic outlook for my long-term future with a trust deed cemented on my records?

This manifests itself in your credit rating, a literal embodiment of your financial predicament. This shouldn’t, however, be perceived as such a bad thing. Your credit rating will lay out in no uncertain terms what is needed to be done in order to take the positive steps you need to make in order to complete financial recovery. The burden of debt is gone, and you will – rightly – feel revitalised. The important thing is to know how to channel this new-found hunger for life into further productivity, and this must start with tackling your credit rating head on.

So where do you start? Fortunately, with the help of a team of experienced debt consultants such as ours here at CTACIC, you’ll be able to work pragmatically towards your ultimate goals of recovery; to highlight the key areas we’ll help you deal with during this period. To start you off, we’ve compiled a shortlist of the most pressing matters you need to attend to in your final stage of financial rehabilitation.

Ensure your credit file is clean

We’ll start with a simple one – make an effort to remove any errors or irregularities that may have hurt your credit rating in recent years. Incorrect entries or false associations (such as being held accountable for the credit issues of a previous housemate or a credit hangover from a divorce) can have seriously detrimental repercussions if left unattended for a prolonged period of time.

If you spot any of these, send your credit agency a formal letter of disassociation. If you’re not sure what one of these entails, don’t panic –we’ll be able to help you out in drafting one and getting it sent off properly.

Circulate your Discharge Certificate

Once your Trust Deed has been completed and all the relevant paperwork has been signed by your representatives and the creditors, your insolvency practitioner will send you’re a Discharge Certificate which you will in turn need to circulate to the relevant bodies to notify them of its completion. These should be sent your credit reference agencies in order to cement the termination of the Trust Deed.

Register to vote

Whether or not you have any particular political affiliation, it’s advised you contact your local council and sign up to the electoral register as soon as you can. Why? It acts as a huge vote of confidence in your direction from prospective lenders and credit agencies that you may wish to borrow from in the future, as the official confirmation of your address carries a lot of weight in this regard.

Meet regular payments on time

Again, this may seem like a simple one but you will know more than anyone by this point how dangerous it can be to begin to habitually miss payments, no matter how big or small they are. Make sure that every single one is made on time, without fail – much like you have been doing over your period making your trust deed payments. Don’t kick the habit as soon as you’re out of the woods; you could find yourself right back where you started if you aren’t vigilant with this.

Get a credit card… on one condition

This is a huge step for anyone who has just come out of the other side of a trust deed, so it must be approached with serious caution. If you feel as though you have the peace of mind and the willpower that is required to resist the temptation of overspending and irresponsible financial decisions, then getting a credit card will prove to be a hugely sensible move on your quest for full redemption.

Of course, there is seriously damaging potential afoot whenever credit cards are bought into play, but this doesn’t mean they can’t help you out, too. Getting your credit rating back up can be done through a series of sensible credit card choices, and there’s no reason it can’t work for you. Use it to pay for a single medium sized expenditure every week, and then repay the bill in full as soon as it comes in.

Keep in close contact with the CTACIC

As we have mentioned earlier in the article, our team are always here to help you from the minute we pick up your case. Just because you have completed your trust deed doesn’t mean you may not need some help or guidance through some more testing times, so keep our number close to hand. Our advisors will be with you every step of the way to make the struggles of a debt ridden life a thing of the past.