Scottish Trust Deed’s ultimate guide to preventing or stopping a Direct Earnings Attachment (DEA) in Scotland.
Have you received a letter from a Sheriff Officer in Scotland stating their next action is to impose a Direct Earnings Arrestment (DEA)?
Ok so nobody wants to receive their payslip from their employer to find out that one your employer has been informed to take money from your earnings due to an unpaid debt & also the stress of getting less money than normal come pay day.
How to stop a wage arrestment in Scotland?
The majority of people we speak to each day in debt who receive such letters generally have a debt or debts regarding council tax arrears, as local councils in Scotland step up the chase to get money owed recovered and can be go to some extreme measures to do this such as arresting someone earnings, affordable or not.
- Easiest way to stop prevent this would be to contact the Sheriff Officer in question and pay debt in full
- Contact the sheriff officer in question and ask for a payment plan to be put in place to pay debt back but avoiding a Direct Earnings Arrestment (DEA)
- Ask friends or family for help to clear debt
- Check your eligibility for a Scottish Protected Trust Deed, which if you have over £5,000 of debt in total you could write off up to 75%
How much (what percentage) or your wages can the Sheriff Officers arrest?
How will your my employer react?
It’s unlikely that any employer is going to look favorably on what is an increased administrative burden. It is their legal duty to deduct whatever the courts insist from your wages. Your employer can also deduct a £1.00 administration fee every time the money is taken from your salary.
Wage arrestment can be uncomfortable for you at work but it is not likely to be more than that. However, you may, as a condition of your employment, have a clause in your contract that states that wages arrestment is a matter for which you should be disciplined. This is often the case in work in, for example, financial institutions.
In such circumstances you can apply to the court for a Suspended Attachment of Earnings Order. If you can supply compelling reasons why the wage arrestment should be suspended, you may be able to prevent it. One such reason may be dismissal or disciplinary proceedings at work.
Who can have their earnings arrested?
The fact is that most of us can receive a wage arrestment: in brief, anyone who is employed (apart from serving members of the armed forces) can have their wages arrested.
• You must be employed as opposed to self-employed (self-employed people cannot have their earnings arrested)
• You must not be on benefits (such as unemployment benefits)
• You must not be in the armed forces
• Your debt must be more than £50
