As Scotland’s leading introducers of Trust Deeds, Trust Deed Scotland have advised more people on the advantages and disadvantages of a Trust Deed as an option to clear debt in Scotland than any other Trust Deed introducer this year.
The Scottish based company have been working tirelessly to educate people about the existence of the government legislation and to advise individuals on whether a Trust Deed could benefit them.
Many of the people that Trust Deed Scotland speak to are aware of the existence of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement which only applies to residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland but fewer people have actually heard of the Scottish equivalent, the Protected Trust Deed.
Perhaps a reason for this is the Scottish Government’s failure to allocate enough of its budget to the education of money advisory services and another reason could be nationwide TV and Printed advertising by English based companies in Scotland offering an IVA as a solution to debt, without necessarily promoting the Trust Deed as a solution to debt.
With this in mind, Trust Deed Scotland asked a small portion of its prospective clients whether it would be better to rename the government legislation and for it to become known as a Scottish Individual Voluntary Arrangement (SIVA).
Of those polled, 66% indicated that the term Scottish Individual Voluntary Arrangement may be less confusing than the term Trust Deed.
There are differences between a Trust Deed and an IVA which must be made clear e.g. A Trust Deed lasts for a typical period of 36 months and an IVA lasts for 60 months usually. A person would only really be eligible for a Trust Deed if they owed more than £10,000 to unsecured debts compared to the £15,000 minimum debt level of an IVA as a solution.
An analyst for Trust Deed Scotland advised “There is some confusion caused by the terminology of different debt help options and we are aware of this and purposely seeking to educate the Scottish public about this.
Not only is there the Trust Deed vs IVA dilemma but alternative options such as the Debt Arrangement Scheme, LILA Sequestration, Certificate for Sequestration and Debt Management Plans.
The CCCS recently highlighted a couple of their cases where individuals thought that they were on an IVA but had been confused by their providers and actually were on a debt management plan.
I would welcome a cross-platform debate by the Scottish Government and leading figures in our industry to establish if the joint efforts of a debt help awareness campaign coupled with a more consumer friendly title such as the Scottish Individual Voluntary Arrangement (SIVA) could help to alleviate part of the debt misery that ordinary Scottish residents are currently experiencing.”
About the Author
Trust Deed Scotland are Scotland’s largest introducer of Trust Deeds
If you would like to apply for a Scottish IVA, you can visit the company website or call 0141 221 0999 for free and confidential advice.