Free, impartial debt advice is available across Scotland. Where to get it.

How our service works

A plain account of what happens to your enquiry, step by step, who sees your details, how this service is paid for and what we do not do.

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Trust Deeds is an information and enquiry service: we do not give debt advice and we do not arrange trust deeds ourselves. If you ask us to, we pass your answers to [Partner firm TBC], a firm of licensed insolvency practitioners, who will contact you to go through your options. They may pay us a fee for the introduction. This does not change what you pay.

What happens when I send an enquiry?

Here is each step, in order.

  1. You read our guides. You do not have to give us anything to use the site.
  2. You choose to fill in our enquiry form. The form asks whether you live in Scotland, roughly how much you owe, what kinds of debt you have, your work, your home, your income, and whether anyone is taking action to recover what you owe. Nothing on the form tells you that you qualify for anything.
  3. You give your contact details and decide about consent. To send your answers, you tick a box agreeing that we and [Partner firm TBC] can contact you about your enquiry. It is never ticked for you. A separate box, also unticked, asks if you want occasional money guides by email. That one is optional.
  4. We pass your answers to [Partner firm TBC]. We only do this once you have agreed.
  5. An adviser from the firm calls you at the time you chose. They should go through your situation in full and explain every option, including ones that do not involve a trust deed, such as the Debt Arrangement Scheme, sequestration, the Minimal Asset Process and informal plans.
  6. You decide. There is no obligation to go ahead with anything.

If you start the form and leave partway through after giving a phone number or email address, the answers you have given come to us only, never to the partner firm, and they are not treated as a request to be referred. Our privacy policy explains this.

What should I have ready for the call?

You do not need anything to have a first conversation, and estimates are fine. If you later look at a formal solution such as a trust deed, the Accountant in Bankruptcy’s guidance on the Common Financial Tool (the budgeting method used in Scotland’s statutory debt solutions) says your income needs to be backed by evidence. It may help to gather:

  • payslips for the last three months, or recent accounts if you are self-employed
  • recent benefit award letters
  • your bank statements
  • recent letters or statements from the people you owe money to, including anything from sheriff officers or the court
  • a rough list of your regular bills, such as rent or mortgage, council tax, energy and travel

Having these to hand makes it easier for an adviser to give you an accurate picture of your options.

Before you sign any trust deed, the law says the insolvency practitioner must give you a Debt Advice and Information Package and a trust deed information document, and allow you adequate time to consider them. Guidance from the Accountant in Bankruptcy says that means at least 3 calendar days. See before you sign a trust deed.

Who do you pass my details to?

We pass your answers to [Partner firm TBC], a firm of licensed insolvency practitioners. We do this only with your agreement, and only so they can contact you and assess your options.

We do not pass your details to your employer, your landlord or your family, and we do not contact them.

The professional rules for insolvency practitioners handling trust deeds in Scotland, Statement of Insolvency Practice 3.3 (SIP 3.3), require the firm to:

  • check who referred you, including whether the referrer gave you advice and, if so, whether they are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to do so
  • be able to see what the referrer told you, including call recordings or notes
  • put right any gaps in advice you were given before they spoke to you
  • explain all your debt options, not just a trust deed, and the likely costs

How is this service paid for?

We are not a debt charity. If we introduce you to an insolvency practitioner or a debt advice firm, they may pay us a fee. This does not change what you pay.

If you go ahead with a trust deed, SIP 3.3 says the trustee must tell your creditors who referred you, and the amount of any payment made to the referrer, and the reason for it. So the arrangement is not hidden from the people you owe money to.

A trust deed has its own fees, which the trustee must set out before you sign. You can read about them in what a trust deed costs.

What do you not do?

  • We do not give debt advice or recommend any solution, including a trust deed.
  • We do not carry out credit checks when you send an enquiry.
  • We never charge you for using this website or for passing on your enquiry.
  • We do not ask about your health on the form. If you want to tell an adviser about your health or anything else that makes things harder, you can do that on the call.
  • We are not a charity or a government body, and we are not connected to the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Can I get free advice instead?

Yes, and you do not need to use our service at all. Free, impartial debt advice is available from services such as MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice Scotland, Advice Direct Scotland and StepChange. MoneyHelper has a debt advice locator that finds free advice near you. See free debt advice in Scotland for phone numbers and opening hours.

How do I complain?

About us: see our complaints page.

About an insolvency practitioner: GOV.UK says you must complain to the insolvency practitioner first. If you are not satisfied with their response, you can use an online form to complain to their professional body.

About how a trust deed is being run: the Accountant in Bankruptcy supervises protected trust deeds. The law lets you ask it to examine how your trustee is running your trust deed. You do this within 14 days of receiving the trustee’s accounts, which the trustee must send you at least every 12 months.

Official sources

Common questions

Do you charge me for passing on my enquiry?

No. We do not charge you anything for using this website or for passing on your enquiry. The insolvency practitioner firm may pay us a fee for the introduction, and that does not change what you pay. If you go ahead with a debt solution, that solution may have its own fees, which the firm must explain before you agree to anything.

Will you share my details without my permission?

No. We only pass your answers to the insolvency practitioner firm if you tick the box agreeing to it, and that box is never ticked for you. We do not contact your employer, your landlord or your family. Our privacy policy explains what we keep and why.

Will my creditors know you were paid for referring me?

If you go ahead with a trust deed, yes. The professional rules for insolvency practitioners handling trust deeds say the trustee must tell your creditors who referred you and the amount of any payment made to the referrer, with the reason for it. We think that openness is right.

Do I have to go ahead with anything after the call?

No. The call is a chance to understand your options. There is no obligation to go ahead with a trust deed or anything else. By law, if you do decide on a trust deed, the insolvency practitioner must give you information documents and adequate time to think, which guidance says is at least 3 calendar days, before you sign.

Do you do a credit check?

We do not carry out any credit checks when you send an enquiry, and filling in our form does not leave a mark on your credit file from us. If you speak to the insolvency practitioner firm, ask them what checks they carry out, when they would do them and why, before you agree to anything.

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