Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Surprisingly, hundreds of thousands of people in the UK today have debt problems that they cannot cope with for many different reasons.

Debt is a private matter between you and your creditors, unless you opt for bankruptcy. Otherwise, in general you are under no obligation to tell anyone other than your money adviser and the creditors themselves.

A default notice is usually the first step which creditors will take before they take you to court. In other words, a creditor must advise you first in writing that you haven't paid your debt. You must also be given the opportunity to make payments to bring your account up to date. However, some debts are treated differently.

No, not normally.

Possibly. Your house can only be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other loan secured against your property. But don't panic, you won't be repossessed overnight. Contact a money adviser as?soon as possible for advice.

No. Under normal circumstances you will not go to prison because of debt. The problems of debt are dealt with under Scottish civil law. This means that the creditor who is owed money may be able to add financial penalties onto the amount owed eg increased interest charges. However, a prison sentence cannot be applied.