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Understanding your sheriff officers rights is crucial. It is widely known that Sheriff Officers who enforce debt collection use heavy-handed scare tactics to try and shake you down. But what sheriff officers are and are not legally allowed to do is not common knowledge.

Sheriff Officers are the Scottish equivalent to bailiffs, and act as debt enforcement agents to help private companies and local councils collect unpaid debt. Examples of these companies are Walker Love, Stirling Park and Scott & Co.

Sheriff Officers will use broad and ambiguous language in their letters and when on your doorstep. This is to make it seem like they are all-powerful and you have to do what they say – or else….

In most cases, this is not true.

While there are few rules on what sheriffs can say to you, what they are allowed to actually do is heavily legislated.

Sheriff officers know the law, and will try their hardest to work right up to the edge of what it allows. Luckily for you, there are a lot of simple precautions you can take that are well within Scottish law.

As long as you know your rights, you can prevent sheriff officers from taking your belongings and arresting your wages – or at least stall them so you have time to seek advice from the experts.

Here are 4 ways you can use Scottish law to stop Sheriff Officers in their tracks:

Know Your Sheriff Officers Rights

1. You don’t have to tell them anything.

The number 1. piece of advice to anyone getting threatening letters orvisits from Sheriff Officers – You are not legally obligated to tell them anything: not your name, not your current address, not your employer, and especially not your bank details.

No matter how reasonable or aggressive they may be – tell them you aren’t answering questions. Any information you give can be used against you. You can even deny that you are who they say you are. Withholding information gives you time to seek help and fight back.

If you still feel intimidated or have let slip vital information, the best thing to do is seek free expert advice.

2. Don’t let them in.

Unless a Sheriff Officer has been given a court order granted by the correct authorities, they have no right to be granted or force entrance into your home – DO NOT let them into your home, for any reason.

Ask for their identification, and tell them anything they have to say they can say on your doorstep.

If they have a court order, they are allowed to force entry if you don’t let them in. However, your creditor will have to pay for any broken locks or forced doors.

3. Don’t put up with their phone calls

Just like the rest of your personal information, don’t be fooled into giving debt collectors your phone number. If they manage to get your number, their constant calling could count as a form of harassment.

Send the offending Officers a letter quoting the Communications Act 2003 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and demand they remove your phone number from their database.

If you need help with writing this letter, call an expert debt advisor to get help.

4. They can’t take what they can’t find

Due to Scottish laws protecting debtors, the list of what Sheriffs CAN NOT take is much longer than the list of what they can. Put simply, they can only take non-essential, luxury items like stereos and televisions.

There are some circumstances in which Sheriff Officers can take your belongings, but they cannot enter your house to evaluate your belongings for auction without an “Exceptional Attachment Order”. An Exceptional Attachment Order requires a court hearing where you can go to defend yourself.

If they have the exceptional attachment order, you will be normally given a few days notice of when the Sheriff Officers will come to review your belongings. This would be a great time to let your friends borrow some of your more expensive electronics.

NOTE: Sheriffs can take belongings outside your house without an Exceptional Attachment Order, such as vehicles and bicycles. Parking your vehicle around the corner from your home and keep your bikes in the hallway may buy you enough time to seek help from an independent advisor.

While all this information will help you delay Sheriffs, you cannot run away from your debt forever.

To help stop Sheriff Officer’s calling permanently, you are going to have to seek expert advice to help clear your debts.

Luckily, Council Tax Advisors are a community interest company that will answer any questions you have about debt, sheriff officers and Council Tax arrears FOR FREE.

So if you have any questions about defending yourself and your property from Sheriff Officers, click here to get in touch with Council Tax Advisors for FREE advice.

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While so much is written about how to get out of debt once you’re in it, there is comparably less written about life after a trust deed and how to remain debt-free. 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?

Life After a Trust Deed: Rebuilding Your Credit Score

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.

The Debt Arrangement Scheme Scotland (DAS) is available to residents of Scotland who are having difficulty paying back their debts. The scheme allows the debtor to make repayments at a slower, and much more affordable, rate and still allows them to live comfortably. There are some important factors you need to take into consideration before entering a Debt Arrangement Scheme, and they include the fact that any valuable assets you may own, such as a home or car, will not be affected in any way.

How the Debt Arrangement Scheme Scotland Works

This makes the scheme an attractive proposition for many Scottish residents who are finding it hard to cope with mounting debt. With a Debt Arrangement Scheme you are paying back the full amount you owed minus any interest and fees, so the amount that you owe before you enter the agreement is the final amount you will pay at the end. This means that even though you’re making smaller payments and it will take you longer to repay, it’ll be much easier to keep on top of things.

Payments on the Debt Arrangement Scheme are designed to be affordable, based on what you can contribute after you’ve covered your essential costs. This includes mortgage payments, food and household bills. A Debt Payment Programme will be drawn up to show your creditors how much you can afford to pay each month, and once accepted they won’t be able to hassle you or take you to court providing you stick to the plan.

To enter a Debt Arrangement Scheme you must first agree a Debt Payment Programme, before a DAS Approved Advisor goes through your accounts and judges your ability to make the agreed repayments. Once the terms are agreed then the debtor can pay a lump sum every month, and as the scheme is enforced by the Government then creditors can’t take any further action. If a situation arises where you suddenly have less money at your disposal, such as through the loss of a job, then you will have a good case to apply for a variation in the scheme. However, if you simply miss payments without providing any warning then the agreement could be terminated within a matter of months, and your creditors could return to charging fees and interest on top of what you owe them.

Anyone entering a Debt Arrangement Scheme will receive some respite from debt problems, and it’s a lot simpler to pay off your debts when you have one, manageable monthly fee to keep on top of. However, the scheme will have a detrimental impact on your credit score, as although you aren’t missing any repayments, you are still arranging to pay them back at a later date than originally agreed. Another disadvantage is that debtors won’t be able to take on any more unsecured debts while the scheme is in place, unless allowed to do so by the administrator.

A Debt Arrangement Scheme can prove very useful, and it’s helped thousands of people across Scotland pay back their debts. However, before entering a plan like this it’s always best to seek out free, impartial advice from experts. At Council Tax Advisors we’ll listen to your situation and we’ll be able to inform you about the best route to take next. Together we can tackle your money problems and get you on the road to financial stability.

A Scottish Trust Deed can provide people with help when they need it most, sorting their debt out and allowing them to pay it off in manageable amounts each month. It can be a lifeline for many households, but some people remain wary of trust deeds because they worry of the effects it will have on other areas of life. One of these is employment, with many wondering if having a trust deed will impact their job, or any jobs they might apply for in the future. However a trust deed might not be as detrimental to your chances of employment as you think.

An employer doesn’t always have to know that you have a trust deed, and unless your employer is one of your creditors then it’s highly unlikely they’ll find out. Your name will be published in the Edinburgh Gazette along with thousands of other notices, but unless they’re trawling through it from cover to cover it’s doubtful that they’ll realise. However there are some professions which will come with a contract of employment stating that you are not allowed to be sequestrated or involved in a form of insolvency. These professions include the Police, Fire Service and sometimes the Prison Service. Positions where you’re handling money might also have concerns if you have a trust deed.

This is because you’ll have access to a large amount of information and money, so unmanageable levels of personal debt might not show you in the best light. If you are involved in any of these professions then it’s recommended that you check your contact of employment to see the specific rules that apply for you. If an employer finds out that you have a trust deed then it’s unlikely that you’ll lose your job, as in most cases it doesn’t impact your ability to perform in a role. If you’re involved in one of the positions discussed above then it would be worth having a confidential talk with someone at your work who can tell you the impact a trust deed will have.

When it comes to getting a new job, a trust deed will only affect your chances of employment if you’re applying for the Police, Fire Service, Prison Service, or jobs where you’ll be handling money. You might also find it hard to get work if you are a self-employed contractor applying for council contracts, as you may have to go through financial checks along with other contractors in your team.

Before you apply for a trust deed it’s worth getting advice about employment, so that you can know for sure whether your job will be affected and if your chances of finding a new job will be impacted. At Council Tax Advisors we make it our mission to provide free, impartial debt advice that covers a wide range of problems. Contact a friendly member of our team today for expert guidance over trust deeds.

A protected trust deed is the equivalent of the IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) in Scotland. It is a legally governed procedure where you can begin to repay you debt over a specified period of time. Most of the monthly payments will be based on what you can afford and after the period of your Trust Deed has ended, any remaining debt is written off. The popularity of trust deeds are increasing all the time due to how effective they are at eliminating debt problems. A trust deed is a fast way of getting out of debt with a minimal amount of stress. Your creditors will want you to deal with debt the long and hard way, so they can get back as close to 100% of what you owe them. A trust deed eliminates the demoralising and overwhelming process of getting out of debt slowly, with affordable payment periods.

Write off some of the debt

A trust deed will be able to help you write off up to 70% of what you owe, and help you to get out of debt faster. Many debtors struggle with interest rates and charges that steadily pile up against them. With a trust deed, your creditors won’t get a substantial proportion of the interest and charges they have heaped on your original borrowings, and they won’t be able to take any further actions against you. A trust deed also costs less to administer than a sequestration, which means a trust deed will avoid adding to your debt problem.

Short repayment period

A trust deed usually takes around 3-4 years to complete compared to a debt management plan. These other plans usually take more than five years to complete entirely. A trust deed aims to ensure that you are debt free, faster. After the repayment period has ended, any remaining debts that are protected under your trust deed will effectively be written off. This will help to ensure that when your trust deed is over you will have a better chance of staying out of debt.

Trustee

If you choose to get out of debt using a trust deed, you will have to have the necessary paperwork signed and your trustee will try to protect your trust deed. With a trustee, you have an experienced professional on your side that will have an in-depth knowledge of finance and law. The trustee will be able to offer advice on how to deal with unexpected financial events and how to keep out of debt. They are an invaluable tool when it comes to using a trust deed for getting out of debt.

Creditor Approval

When you apply for the trust deed, your creditors will be given five weeks to object to the offer of how much money you can pay them each month for three years. If they fail to accept, or reject the offer, or if less than half of them object, you can still start making the proposed payments. Protected status will only be refused when creditors representing a majority in number or at least 33% of the total debt object in writing. After your trust deed is protected, your creditors will no longer be able to contact you directly, making it much easier for you to get out of debt without feeling harassed.

Financial skills

Trust deeds teach important money management skills, which means you will be able to come much more financially aware after your trust deed is completed. During a trust deed your spending will be tightly controlled and monitored by your trustee, which will help you to learn valuable budgeting and money management skills that will stay with you for life.

If you need any advice about trust deeds, debt, or money management skills – contact Council Tax Advisors today. We are a community interest company who are committed providing help and support to those who are struggling with debt.

For people falling into debt it can be difficult to remain positive when receiving constant reminders of your situation from creditor’s calls or the letters they send directly to you. It can be a distressing time and suffering in silence can only worsen things. At Council Tax Advisors we help people around the country with free and independent support for a wide selection of debt problems. It should not matter how you’ve fallen into the red, we are committed at finding realistic solutions to get your financial stability back once and for all.

Getting court orders is an unfortunate consequence for people struggling with their finances. Creditors will often apply to the judicial branch in order to speed up repayments and this let further panic ensue for people frantically trying to get sufficient funds together. Scottish summary warrants are used by local authorities with the sole intention of getting money owed to them as quickly as they can. To speed this process up they will make applications to courts about repayments.

The demand for payment will usually have a time limit of 14 days and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) cannot take action against you until this charge has been served and the time limit expires. This is known as diligence. Diligence can be used against people in financial difficulty in numerous ways. Your money in a bank or building society account can be frozen and even released to the creditor, along with an earnings arrestment. This makes your employer take deductions from your earnings then pay this to HMRC. This consequence can be very damaging to a person’s morale and pride, so contact Council Tax Advisors to avoid this if you’re worried about your arrears.

Sheriff Officers such as Scott and Co also have the power to seize goods that are outside your home and then sell them to pay HMRC. This adds greater fear to people in debt because they will be in for a nasty shock when one of their items disappears. Another way creditors can get money off you is through an exceptional attachment order. This gives officers the authority to break into your home and seize goods in order to sell them on. Perhaps most dramatically, you can be stopped from selling your property or taking our more borrowing on it.

Potential action from enforcement agents and the like can increase stress levels and place greater pressures on your finances. Contacting our helpful and effective team at Council Tax Advisors will not only prevent bailiffs from entering your home, but it will give you an affordable repayment plan that will be effective in the long run. We are only interested in helping people change their financial fortunes around for the better. Remember – there’s no risk and no catch when you come to us, so get in touch with us today.