The Debt Arrangement Scheme - D A Good News Story

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This week (8 October 2018), the Scottish Parliament approved the latest amendment to the Debt Arrangement Scheme Regulations.

There’s no need for me to scaremonger because - for secured lenders – we’ve moved back closer to the position which applied up until 2014. Those who have followed the DAS saga closely will recall that in that year, it became no longer possible for a customer to choose which debts were to be included in a debt payment programme - rather, a customer had to include all outstanding debts, including arrears due on a secured loan.

This week’s development means that a customer may now choose whether or not to include such arrears, provided they are over the customer’s sole or main residence. Don’t be in any doubt – this is good news for lenders. If the customer does include the arrears, then matters are in general similar to how they have been for the last four years, with some tweaks here and there. If the customer does not include them (which is only now an option again), the lender is in a favourable position because – in contrast to some other commentary I’ve read - the Debt Arrangement Scheme can operate in such a way as to preclude a creditor from calling-up a loan when it would otherwise have done so, at least until further arrears develop.

Of course, nothing stays the same in our turbulent market and world. Further adjustments to the Debt Arrangement Scheme are promised. Watch this space for more news and in the meantime, Don’t Panic J.

Contact information

For further information or to discuss any aspect of the Debt Arrangement Scheme, please contact Mark Higgins on 07795 504476