Austerity measures were inevitable after the results of the 2010 election, but voters will be disappointed these are still in place today after a slow economic recovery. Many people fear the Dangers of building up Council Tax Arrears Debt in Scotland.
Personal debt has been a damaging consequence from an unstable and uncertain economy around the globe. Poorer residents have felt that they have been taken advantage of by local authorities, with little leeway for those slipping into debt. This has been difficult to overcome following reduced local government spending.
Things such as Council Tax Reduction have been cut, leaving householders with higher property tax bills among other costly payments.
It’s no wonder personal debt has soared in Scotland and elsewhere. The cost of living never seems to drop in Britain, but funding protecting its citizens unfortunately has.
Thousands rely on the government’s financial support to get by and the economic climate has meant this has been cut quite dramatically. Although this is far from ideal, people can understand that cuts need to be made, but the approach of local authorities has been criticised by many.
UK local governments have been condemned for their aggressive debt collection tactics when attempting to recover people’s debts such as wage arrestments. There are a number of factors in the rise of household debt and increased council tax rates have been detrimental to numerous Scottish residents.
Perhaps most worrying of all is how local authorities are dealing with personal debt in their specific area.
Research from debt charity StepChange revealed that councils are more likely to use enforcement measures instead of offering help. Half of the participants from their survey said they were threatened with bailiffs despite speaking to the council and 62 per cent were threatened with court orders.
A spokesperson for the charity was unimpressed by how local council authorities were conducting themselves in regards to collection of Council Tax Arrears.
“The changing nature of debt problems, where more and more people are struggling to meet their essential living costs, combined with changes to council tax benefits, have conspired to create a debt problem that has grown second only to payday loans.
“Councils need to employ a more consistent, responsible, and proportionate approach to dealing with people in arrears, and not default to aggressive enforcement that often makes a bad situation worse.”
Arguably, the most concerning statistic of them all was that just 13 per cent were encouraged to get debt advice from companies such as us at Trust Deed Scotland.
By keeping your problems bottled up there will only be a negative effect to your finances and overall well-being.
While some councils may not adequately support people who need help the most, our doors are always open at Trust Deed Scotland. By using our Trust Deed Wizard you can quickly control your money troubles and talking to us will help formulate a decisive plan at reducing your debts. Our tailored debt advice service changes people’s lives for the better.
Even if you feel like you’ll be unable to sign up to a Trust Deed, it’s still well worth contacting us. We have several other effective alternatives such as a Debt Arrangement Scheme and Minimal Asset Process which stops harassment from creditors and puts you back in control of your financial situation.
We believe that people in debt should be in command of their finances, rather than fearing about enforcement agents and other intimidating figures.
If you require support then please do not hesitate in contacting a member of our experienced debt advice team today. We have an office in Glasgow so you can visit us in person if this is something that better suits your needs.
Alternatively, you can set up a debt solution using our WhatsApp debt advice service.