Knowledge Hub
Plain-English answers about wage arrestments, sheriff officers, council tax arrears and the debt solutions available in Scotland.
- Earnings arrestments Wage Arrestment Calculator: How Much Can They Take? Discover how much can legally be deducted from your wages in Scotland with our Wage Arrestment tables and calculator. Updated 12 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Are Debt Management Plans Free Or Do They Charge Fees? Both models exist, and nobody in Scotland has to pay to set up or run a plan. How a free provider is paid, what a fee-charging one can take, and what a fee costs you. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can A Sequestration Be Recalled In Scotland? Recall sets the award aside and restores you, so far as practicable, to the position you would have been in had it never happened. Who applies, and by when. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can Creditors Sell Your Debt While You Are On A Debt Management Plan? Yes, and your permission is not needed. A plan is a contract with your provider rather than your creditors, so nothing in it stops any of them selling. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can Creditors Still Take Court Action While You Are On A Debt Management Plan? Yes. A plan is not based on legislation, so it does not protect you from legal action by creditors. What court action looks like in Scotland, and what stops it. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Cancel A Debt Management Plan At Any Time? Yes. There is no minimum term and nothing to revoke, because a plan is not a statutory scheme and binds none of your creditors. What happens once you stop. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Change Your Debt Management Plan Payment If Your Income Changes? Yes, and the payment is never fixed. CONC 8.8.1 requires a review at each anniversary of the plan, or sooner where the firm learns of a material change. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Get A Mortgage While You Are On A Debt Management Plan? Nothing bars you from applying, and no rule requires a lender to say yes. What a lender actually sees, and how long the entries last after the plan ends. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Have A Joint Debt Management Plan With Your Partner? No such product exists. A plan is an informal arrangement rather than something you are granted, so a couple runs two arrangements side by side instead. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Include Council Tax Arrears In A Debt Management Plan? Usually not. Council tax is a priority debt in Scotland, some providers will not administer it alongside credit debts, and the council is not bound by your plan. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Pay Off A Debt Management Plan Early With A Lump Sum? Yes, and nothing stands in your way. A plan is informal, so clearing the balances early needs nobody's permission. What to have in writing before you pay. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Rent A Property While You Are Sequestrated In Scotland? Your tenancy does not pass to the trustee. Section 79(3) takes a private residential, assured, protected or Scottish secure tenancy out of your estate. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Set Up And Run A Debt Management Plan Yourself? Yes. Dealing with your own creditors is not a regulated activity, so you can make the offers yourself. What that involves, and what you give up by doing it. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Take A Payment Break On A Debt Management Plan? There is no statutory right to pause a plan. Whether a break is available depends entirely on your provider, and providers take different lines on it. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Can You Travel Abroad While You Are Bankrupt In Scotland? Nothing in Scots bankruptcy law restricts you from travelling or from holding a passport. Where the idea comes from, and what your trustee does need from you. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Do Creditors Have To Accept A Debt Management Plan? No. Nothing requires a creditor to accept a plan or to give a reason for refusing. What they weigh up, how they respond in practice, and how the DAS differs. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Does A Debt Management Plan Affect Your Credit Score? Usually yes, though not in the way people expect. The plan itself is invisible on your credit file and the accounts inside it are not. How long the markers last. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions Does A Debt Management Plan Freeze Interest And Charges? Not by itself. No creditor has to freeze interest because you are on a plan, and no FCA rule requires one to. What the rules say, and what to do about a refusal. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Stopping a wage arrestment Does A Debt Management Plan Stop A Wage Arrestment In Scotland? No. A debt management plan is informal, and nothing in Scots law attaches any consequence to one. What actually stops an arrestment, and what a moratorium does. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions How Do You Check A Debt Management Company Is FCA Authorised? Search the firm on the Financial Services Register and check it holds permission for debt adjusting and debt counselling. An entry on its own is not enough. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions How Do You Move From A Debt Management Plan To The Debt Arrangement Scheme? By asking an approved money adviser to apply for a debt payment programme. Regulation 20(2)(a) of the 2011 Regulations does not let you apply on your own. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions How Do You Set Up A Debt Management Plan? You build an accurate budget, choose a provider or arrange it yourself, and offer each creditor a share. There is no application to approve, so it starts when you pay. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions How Do You Switch From One Debt Management Plan Provider To Another? You cancel one arrangement and start another. There is no transfer process, because a debt management plan is not a statutory scheme and holds nothing to move. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read
- Debt solutions How Does A Debt Management Plan Work? You pay one monthly amount to a provider, which divides it between the creditors in the plan. How the figure is set, what your provider must do, and how it ends. Updated 4 Sept 2026 Read