Debt solutions
DAS, trust deeds, sequestration, debt management plans and more.
- How Much Does A Trust Deed Cost In Scotland? There is no statutory tariff. Your trustee sets a fixed fee and a percentage, writes both on Form 3, and takes them out of the payments you already make. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- Should You Use A Free Debt Charity Or A Paid Debt Adviser? Nobody in Scotland has to pay for debt advice, and on the statutory schemes a money adviser cannot charge you at all. Paying is a choice about service, not a rule. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Benefits Should You Check If You Are Struggling With Council Tax? Council Tax Reduction can cover up to 100% of the bill. Then work down through discounts, disregards, the severe mental impairment and disabled band reductions. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Did The Bankruptcy And Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 Change? Less than most pages suggest, and nothing so far for wage arrestment. Twelve of its twenty-three sections were commenced, and eight have never been switched on. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Happens Between Signing A Trust Deed And It Becoming Protected? Signing does not protect you. Under section 163(2) a deed has protected status only from the date the Accountant in Bankruptcy registers it. What fills the gap. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Happens If You Get A Pay Rise During A Trust Deed? You have to tell your trustee, who may then ask for more. It is not automatic: the contribution is your whole surplus under section 168(5), not a share of your pay. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Happens If You Miss A Payment On Your Trust Deed? One missed contribution does not end a protected trust deed. The trigger is two consecutive missed payments, and section 174 starts with your own trustee. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Happens If You Move House Or Change Jobs During A Trust Deed? Nothing automatic. You do have to tell your trustee, because your discharge at the end rests on the trustee being able to say you co-operated throughout. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Happens If Your Trust Deed Fails? A trust deed does not simply stop. What ends is your protection, and that happens in three quite different ways, each with a different consequence for you. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Happens To The Equity In Your Home In A Trust Deed? Your equity is valued on the day you grant the deed, by a chartered surveyor, under section 175(3). A rise in value after that is yours if you keep to the terms. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Happens To Your Pension In A Trust Deed? A pension you have not started drawing is normally outside the deed, because rights under an approved pension arrangement are excluded from a Scottish bankruptcy. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Help Is Available With Energy Bills In Scotland? Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282, the £150 Warm Home Discount, winter heating payments and a Crisis Grant. You apply to each route on its own. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Is A Crisis Grant And How Do You Apply? Emergency help from the Scottish Welfare Fund for anyone 16 or over on a low income. You apply to your own council, and a decision is due by the next working day. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Is A Time To Pay Order? A sheriff court order letting you pay a decree by instalments. Where one is made, section 9(2)(a) of the 1987 Act says the sheriff shall recall an arrestment. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Is Minimal Asset Process Bankruptcy? MAP is a short, low-cost Scottish sequestration for modest debts. Eight statutory conditions, no fee to pay, and discharge six months after the award. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Is Sequestration In Scotland? Sequestration is the Scottish word for bankruptcy. Your own application goes to the Accountant in Bankruptcy, not a court. See the routes, costs and rules. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Is The Debt Arrangement Scheme? The Debt Arrangement Scheme repays your debts in full through one Debt Payment Programme, with interest and charges frozen from the day you apply and cleared at the end. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Is The Difference Between A Time To Pay Order And A Time To Pay Direction? Timing decides which one is open to you. A direction is applied for before decree, while the action is still running. An order comes after enforcement has begun. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Is The Scottish Welfare Fund And Can It Help With Debt? All 32 councils run the fund under the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015. Neither grant can pay council tax arrears, and neither can be refused because you owe money. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Should You Do If A Debt Collector Contacts You About An Old Debt? Most consumer debts in Scotland are extinguished after five years under section 6 of the 1973 Act, and since 28 February 2025 the creditor has to prove otherwise. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- What Should You Prioritise When You Cannot Pay All Your Bills? Pay the bills where somebody can take something away from you first: rent, energy, council tax, water, fines and maintenance. How to split what is left after that. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- Where Can You Get Free Mental Health Support For Debt Worry? Free support in Scotland is a phone call away: Samaritans on 116 123 at any hour, Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87, and NHS 24 on 111 for the mental health option. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- Which Bills Are Priority Debts In Scotland? A priority debt is one the creditor can enforce with fewer steps. The power behind the bill decides it, not the size of the balance. See the full order. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read
- Which Debts Cannot Be Included In A Trust Deed? Current council tax, rent, mortgage, utilities and child maintenance cannot go in at all. Court fines and student loans go in but survive your discharge. Updated 30 Aug 2026 Read