Edinburgh, Scotland -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2013 -- Scottishtrustdeed.co.uk, one of Scotland's largest providers of Trust Deeds for debt problems has announced it has experienced a 36% increase in applications over Q4 of 2012 compared to figures from 2012. The increase follows the recent news published by the AiB (Accountants In Bankruptcy) regarding the review of the Debt Arrangement Scheme, which is a popular solution among those who have a smaller debt level.
The scheme entered its ninth year in 2013 and has undergone a series of reviews since its inception, the latest and most far-reaching in July 2011. As a result of the changes, a review was scheduled after 12 months to assess the impact as soon as practicably possible. Some of the finding included:
- Four out of ten debt payment programmes have total debts of £10,000 or less.
- Three out of four debt payment programmes have total debts of £25,000 or less
- Around one in five debt payment programmes are joint applications
- Joint applications make up nearly 30% of the total debt
- The average age of a applicant is 44 years and 11 months
- The average debt owed is £18,903
- The average length of a debt payment programme is 6 years and 8 months
- Around 55% of applicants are female and 45% are male.
- Joint applications owe more money, make higher monthly repayments and last longer than single applications
It’s clear that the Debt Arrangement Scheme is becoming more popular as a method of debt repayment, although it still has some issues to address. Among these is the difference in access to DAS across different local authorities, although it is unknown to what extent money adviser engagement and adviser availability contributes towards the differences seen nor how microeconomic factors and debtor demographics play a role.
Fergus Ewing, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism said in the foreword to the report:
“This review contains details of how DAS has fared in the last year since the introduction of the 2011 Regulations and I am pleased to report that the new changes, including the removing the burden of administration from free-sector money advisers, the introduction of joint Debt Payment Programmes for couples, the creation of a brand new computer system and a targeted marketing campaign have been a great success.
The full report was published by aib.gov.uk on November 21st of 2012.
"The number of people accessing the Scheme continues to grow at an unprecedented rate with a marked increase of over 73% in approved DPPs in the last year alone”.
A spokesperson for Trust Deeds Company, Scottishtrustdeed.co.uk said: “There’s no doubt that DAS is becoming more popular with people who want to pay off all of the unsecured debt that they owe. However, there are still some niggles to be ironed out with the scheme, not least the availability lottery with local authorities. This is the likely cause of the increase in popularity for the Scottish Trust Deed debt solution which is similar to the English counterpart, the IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), which is again highly popular in the south.
“Another issue is that interest is only frozen on a debt when the programme is approved, which means that interest and charges are still accruing with every passing day from the time the application in first made. Decision-making is still an area that can be a little slow, unlike a Trust Deed Scotland which can be processed in a matter of weeks, if not days. This additional time contributes to the addition of extra charges and interest on to an applicant’s debt too.
“These are all issues which are currently being considered by the government and hopefully will be addressed as soon as possible.”
About Scottishtrustdeed.co.uk
Scottishtrustdeed.co.uk provides help and advice for Consumers on the Scottish Trust Deed debt solution. Consumers can be debt free in as little as 36 months by using the Scottish Trust Deed debt solution.