Community Help & Advice Iniave (CHAI) ELS House, 555 Gorgie Road Edinburgh EH11 3LE Phone: 0131 442 1009 Email: [email protected]Web: www.chaiedinburgh.org.uk Scosh Charity No. SC. 027594 ABOUT US We are a registered Scosh charity who aims to support to people in Edinburgh and Midlothian. Our objecves are: • To relieve poverty. • To provide welfare assistance. • To provide praccal help. • To provide infor- maon, advice and support on issues such as housing, debt, benefits and employability. December 2017 Factsheet # 1 @chaiedinburgh Debunking DEBT Myths There is a lot of false informaon out there about debts which we have found to be harmful to people, causing them unnecessary stress and worry. Let’s debunk those myths! MYTH: “If I don’t pay my debts, I’ll go to prison.” Not being able to afford debt repayments is NOT a criminal offence. You won’t go to prison just because you can’t pay your debts although this was the case over a century ago. Some priori- ty debts could result in imprisonment, for example magistrates fines, licences, child maintenance, business rates, but this would be used as a very last resort if you’ve ignored the debt, refused to pay or failed to cooperate with the courts. It would take a long me to get there, as many other debt enforcement methods would be used first. MYTH: “If my bank account gets arrested, I won’t have access to any of my money.” Creditors can only aach funds from your bank account if you have above £494.01 in your account. This amount is set by law and is periodically revised. If you have various accounts in different banks, £494.01 is protected in each account. You can challenge this bank arrestment through the courts if it is causing you hardship. MYTH: “If my wages get arrested, creditors could take most of my wages. ” The amount creditors could deduct from your wages is capped by law, depending on your income. For example, creditors can- not get anything from your wages if you earn less than £113.68 per week. If you earn between £113.68 and £410.9 per week, they can take £4 per week or 19% of any wages exceeding £113.68 per week, whichever is the greater. That’s the total amount creditors can get, so if there are several creditors they would have to share this amount between them. However, the situaon is different if you owe money to the DWP (benefit overpayments), as they could take up to 40% of your net wages (or share this amount with other creditors) and leave you with 60% of net earnings. MYTH: “Sheriff Officers could turn up at my door to inmidate me and can be quite aggressive.” Recent TV programmes may have shown images of abusive and aggressive ‘bailiffs’ (that’s the name for Sheriff Officers in England and Wales). However this is not the reality of Sheriff Offic- ers’ behaviour in Scotland. If someone comes to your door, beware that they may not be actual Sheriff Officers but debt collectors work- ing for creditors instead. These people don’t have any powers at all. Report any threatening behaviour to the Police. January 2018
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Debunking DET Myths - CHAI...Debunking DET Myths to people, causing them unnecessary stress and worry. Let’s debunk those myths! MYTH: “If I don’t pay my debts, I’ll go to
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