Scott & Co - Wages Arrestment

[Debzhfc]

HI I wonder if anyone can help.

 

 

We were going through some tough times when my partner was out of work

and fell into arrears with the council tax.

 

 

This (eventually) resulted in a wages arrestment after we struggled to pay the monthly amounts.

 

 

This was a massive stress for me as i work in the finanial industry

and this stops me from applying for internal roles and promotions,

it can also lead to disiplinary action.

 

 

I managed to get through it all ok and have faithfully paid the council tax all last year

and this year to date without missing one payment.

 

 

It now seems that when Scott and Co applied for the wages arrestment

they applied for the wrong amount and there is still approx £900 from 2010 /2011

which they now say they will get via a second wages arrestment.

this could be the final straw for my employer

 

 

Can anyone give me any advice if they can do this because of their mistake

or can i appeal against this?

 

 

Do they have to accept any amount of repayment i offer?

[Camble]

I'm in a similar situation and it would appear that the earnings arrestment

comes directly from Scott&Co DCA, not the Court.

 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but surely this can't be legal?

[kirstyo]

I am not too up on the technicalities of it all but they do go to court before getting a wages arrestment,

 

 

the problem is what they told me:

once they have had one wages arrestment against you

its no problem for them to get another because you have already had one.

 

 

I would call and set up a payment plan before they do anything,

as long as you stick to it,

it should prevent the arrestment.

 

 

As for repayment offers, again only my experience but unfortunately I have lots of experience here,

 

 

I would offer slightly less than you want to pay because they will almost certainly

tell you that the least they can possibly accept is slightly higher than you offer them.

[Crocdoc]

The way to beat the wages arrestment is to enter into a Debt arrangement Scheme as the arrestment will fall upon approval. If you have other debts they can be included in order that you can repay at an affordable rate over an extended period. Your employer will NOT be notified.

 

This may be worth consideration depending on your circumstances.

[maroondevo52]

I'm in a similar situation and it would appear that the earnings arrestment

comes directly from Scott&Co DCA, not the Court.

 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but surely this can't be legal?

 

The op will have already been served with a Summary Warrant and Charge for Payment before any Wages Arrestment is actioned by the Sheriff Officers.

 

The summary warrant provides the same authority as a court order. If the debts council tax you must be offered time to pay it.

 

Anyone who is employed (apart from serving members of the armed forces) can have their wages arrested. A creditor who uses this way of making you pay your debt must have served a charge for payment.

 

I would try to enter a repayment plan with Scott and Co before they action any wages arrestment, If you do only offer what you can continue to pay as missing any payments will result in another Charge for Payment and even more fee's added to your account.

 

As crocdoc has suggested it could be worth your while having a look at the Debt Arrangement Scheme.

[Camble]

The op will have already been served with a Summary Warrant and Charge for Payment before any Wages Arrestment is actioned by the Sheriff Officers.

 

The summary warrant provides the same authority as a court order. If the debts council tax you must be offered time to pay it.

 

You say that but I'm currently in a similar situation, whereby I requested a copy of the summary warrant because I was never served (except for a notice). The case was passed to the legal department, who simply instructed Scott&Co to collect, doubling the amount being taken from me. Stonewalled at every turn, all I can think of is complaining to the financial ombudsman. I don't even know if this is a valid option, but am even considering legal action.

[maroondevo52]

You say that but I'm currently in a similar situation, whereby I requested a copy of the summary warrant because I was never served (except for a notice). The case was passed to the legal department, who simply instructed Scott&Co to collect, doubling the amount being taken from me. Stonewalled at every turn, all I can think of is complaining to the financial ombudsman. I don't even know if this is a valid option, but am even considering legal action.

 

Hi,

 

Think you need to sort out exactly what you are due and what charges ect the Sheriff Officers have charged in fee's, if your arrears are over a number of years each time a Charge for Payment is issued the Sheriffs charge you about £98 this is on top of the automatic 10% when a Summary Warrant is applied for, this would be for each separate year.

 

To get the total amount you are due or have already paid over the years in Council Tax you can send a subject access request to your council, most councils don't charge for this and you can do it online.

 

Regarding the council tax, if you do not pay the amount due, the council can apply to the sheriff court for a summary warrant.

A summary warrant is a certificate from the sheriff court stating the amount of council tax you owe. The council also have to obtain from court a charge for payment before they can recover the money owed from you.

 

You do not have to be told that the council are applying for a summary warrant and you will not be given the opportunity to negotiate with the court before it is granted.

 

The summary warrant will be granted automatically and you will only know about it when you receive a copy of it in the post.

 

Summary warrants are sent out by the sheriff officers. If you have received a summary warrant, it should state the amount due and who to contact to arrange to pay this. You now have to make payments to the sheriff officers rather than the council. The amount due will have increased as there is an automatic penalty of 10% if a summary warrant has been granted against you.

 

Regarding the wages arrestment, they can only take a certain amount from your wages,

 

The Debtor Scotland Act 1987, Schedule 2, sets out the amount that can be deducted from a debtor’s wages in an earnings arrestment. Ministers gave an undertaking to review the tables approximately every 3 years.

 

A review was carried out in 2012 and as a result, the deduction tables will be amended with effect from 6 April 2013 by The Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2012.

 

This change also alters the Protected Minimum Balance (PMB) in bank arrestments. The PMB sets out a minimum amount which is protected from arrestment and provides important protection for those who may have their bank account arrested. The PMB will increase from £415 to £460.06.

 

There's a table here.............

 

http://www.scotdebt.net/earnings_arrestment_tables.htm

 

I will make my final arrears payment to Scott & Co this week, after years of toiling and scraping the bottom of the barrel to get up to date with my arrears.

What sticks in the throat is knowing how much I've paid in charges and Sheriff Officers fees.

[Camble]

This is information I already know. It's all well and good saying what should happen. But you have to remember that the Council apply for a summary warrant in bulk. You also don't receive a copy in the mail, you receive a "notice of summary warrant" from the Council. When I asked for a copy of the summary warrant, they fobbed me off repeatedly and then instructed Scott&Co to collect.

 

When I contacted the payroll department, and legal, their only response is "there's a summary warrant, so tough luck". It's like trying to talk to a broken record. They don't care that I was in dispute about the issue, or that it was passed to Scott&Co a day after I was told I'd get a response from legal. They just don't care.

 

They do not care.

[maroondevo52]

This is information I already know. It's all well and good saying what should happen. But you have to remember that the Council apply for a summary warrant in bulk.

 

And this is information I already know, what do you hope to achieve with a 'copy' of the Summary Warrant, as you've been told a Summary Warrant has been granted against you.

 

With a Summary Warrant for Council Tax the Local Authority takes a large bound file to the Sheriff Clerk with details of all the Council Tax accounts that the Council wants to pursue. The Sheriff signs a covering letter which allows the 10% surcharge and lets the Council do "dilligence" on the debt.

 

I came within 24hrs of being Sequestrated by Scott & Co for my Council Tax arrears, as I said it's taken years to finally pay it off.

 

There's no need to tell me they don't care, I know.