If you’re a Scottish resident and you’ve fallen into debt problems, there are some solutions available that aren’t on offer anywhere else in the UK. When it comes to debt solutions, there isn’t a universal approach that is suitable for everybody – it all depends on what situation you’re in with your debts, and what shape your finances are in overall.

There are several debt solutions exclusively available in Scotland: the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS), the LILA (Low Income, Low Assets) route into bankruptcy and the Trust Deed.

Let’s take a quick look at each of these three Scottish debt solutions, and find out how they work and who they’re designed to help.

Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS)

Do you have one or more unsecured debts? Can you no longer afford your monthly repayments? If your answer is yes, entering the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) could be the ideal approach for you.

If you qualify for DAS you could begin a Debt Payment Programme (DPP) if your lenders agree to this. As part of the agreement, you’ll begin making single monthly payments, calculated to be affordable on top of your essential living costs. Your lenders will each get a portion of these payments, and won’t take any further legal action against you (as long as you keep up with payments into your DPP), and if you’re a homeowner you won’t risk losing your home (as long as you keep up with payments to your mortgage).

Entering a DPP under DAS will, however, damage your credit rating for six years – which could make getting further credit difficult during this time.

Trust Deeds

If you have a significant amount of unsecured debt, and you can no longer afford your monthly payments, a Trust Deed may be able to help you.

It’s a legally binding agreement which, once agreed with your lenders, could reduce your monthly payments to an affordable level (taking your essential costs into account), stop your unsecured lenders taking any further action against you, and write off any outstanding debts included in the Trust Deed, once it reaches a successful conclusion.

Furthermore, you’ll have a date you’ll know you will/should be debt-free: usually after three years. However, a Trust Deed will affect your credit rating for six years (which can make getting further credit in this time difficult), and if you’re a homeowner you may have to release some of the equity in your home.

LILA route into bankruptcy

The LILA route into bankruptcy, which stands for ‘Low Income, Low Assets’, is an alternative route into bankruptcy for struggling borrowers. See debtadvicenow.co.uk/lila-low-income-low-asset/ for more information.

To qualify for the LILA route, you must:

• Earn no more per week than the standard national minimum wage for a 40-hour working week, which currently stands at £237.20
• Have no assets worth more than £1,000 individually, or £10,000 in total.

Again, the LILA route into bankruptcy will have a major impact on your credit rating for six years – but it could still be a suitable approach for struggling Scottish borrowers who need the benefits of bankruptcy (such as a write-off of the debt they can’t afford to repay).