The Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) lets you pay off your debts at a rate you can afford, and it protects you from creditors while you do. It is run by Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), part of the Scottish Government, and it is only available in Scotland. You have to apply through a DAS approved money adviser.
Key points
✓DAS is only available in Scotland, and only a DAS approved money adviser can apply for you.
✓With a debt payment programme in place, creditors cannot ask you for money, take you to court, apply to make you bankrupt or add interest, fees or charges.
✓Your creditors get 3 weeks to reply to the proposal.
✓A moratorium gives you 6 months in which creditors cannot take action to recover what you owe.
✓Your first payment is due within 42 days of the programme being approved.
What is DAS and who is it for?
DAS lets you pay off your debts at a rate you can afford, and it also gives you protection from creditors. A debt management plan does not give you the same protection, and DAS is different to a plan from a debt management company.
To apply for a DAS you need to:
✓Yes: Live in Scotland
✓Yes: Owe money to one or more creditors (any amount of money)
✓Yes: Have disposable income, which is money left over after essential living costs
✓Yes: Be able to repay what you owe in a reasonable time
You cannot apply for DAS if you:
✗No: Have a protected trust deed
✗No: Are bankrupt
✗No: Have a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order
✗No: Only have one debt and a court has given you more time to repay it, through a time to pay direction, time to pay order or time order
If a court is taking money from your wages through a conjoined arrestment order, you may not be able to apply, though there are some exceptions. You can apply for a DPP alone or jointly with your partner if you both have debts to repay, and you both need to qualify for a joint DPP. In England and Wales, GOV.UK lists a Debt Management Plan, an Administration Order, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement and Breathing Space instead. Our dealing with debt guide covers them, and our Breathing Space guide covers the scheme for England and Wales.
How DAS works, the Debt Payment Programme
You pay your creditors through a debt payment programme (DPP), which can sometimes run for longer than your credit agreement. You repay over a reasonable amount of time, which depends on how much you owe and how much you can afford to pay.
✓Yes: What you pay depends on your disposable income, the money left over after essential living costs
✓Yes: Your money adviser works out what you can afford using the Common Financial Tool (CFT)
✓Yes: You do not have to use savings, sell your home or your car
✓Yes: You pay a payments distributor, who sends the money to your creditors
✓Yes: All interest and charges on the debts in the DPP are frozen if you keep up with your payments
✓Yes: Creditors cannot ask you for money, take you to court, apply to make you bankrupt or add more interest, fees or charges
The protection starts when your money adviser or AiB formally asks your creditors to agree to the DPP. You cannot send money to creditors directly, and creditors cannot ask you to pay them directly.
Debts you can include in a DPP:
✓Yes: Bank account overdrafts, buy now pay later credit and credit cards
✓Yes: Payday loans and personal loans
✓Yes: Missed payments (arrears) of utilities, mortgage, rent or council tax
Debts you cannot include in a DPP:
✗No: Student loans
✗No: Hire purchase or conditional sale agreements (except arrears)
✗No: Court fines
✗No: Ongoing payments such as gas, electricity and phone bills, child maintenance payments, council tax bills, insurance payments, and rent or mortgage, which you need to keep making separate to your DPP
You must include all your existing debts in the DPP, apart from rent or mortgage arrears (your choice) and the types of debt you cannot include. Missed payments (arrears) of ongoing payments can go in, but only if they were missed before the DPP was set up. Once the DPP is set up you cannot add more debts, unless the debt existed before the DPP was set up.
The Moratorium on Diligence, immediate protection
A moratorium is temporary protection from the people you owe money to. It lasts for 6 months, and creditors are not allowed to take any action to recover what you owe during that time.
During a moratorium people you owe money to will not be able to:
✓Yes: Arrest your bank account
✓Yes: Freeze your wages
✓Yes: Apply to make you bankrupt
A moratorium does not:
✗No: Count as a debt solution
✗No: Write off debt
✗No: Stop interest or charges being added to any money you owe
You can apply for a moratorium if you:
✓Yes: Live in Scotland
✓Yes: Have unsecured debts
✓Yes: Have not applied for a moratorium in the last 12 months
✓Yes: Have not already entered bankruptcy
✓Yes: Are not already in a Trust Deed or a Debt Arrangement Scheme
A moratorium can give you more time if you are thinking about applying for bankruptcy, a trust deed or a debt arrangement scheme. A money adviser will check whether a moratorium is right for you. You can apply yourself, or the adviser can apply for you. The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) reviews the application and decides. If it accepts, it registers the moratorium on the Register of Insolvencies, which is a public record.
How to apply for DAS
1
Get temporary relief from creditors
If you are thinking about a DAS or any other debt solution, you may be able to apply for a moratorium. It stops creditors taking further action against you for 6 months. Check with a money adviser whether a moratorium is right for you.
2
Get free debt advice
You need to apply for DAS through an approved money adviser. Not all money advisers are DAS approved, so check this first when you contact them.
3
Work out what you can afford
The money adviser works out how much you can afford to pay after your essential costs, using the Common Financial Tool (CFT).
4
Your application goes to AiB and your creditors
The money adviser sends your application to the AiB, with details of your payments, and to your creditors, asking them to agree to the payment programme. They have 3 weeks to reply.
5
Getting a decision
If your creditors agree, or do not reply within 3 weeks, your application is approved automatically. If some creditors disagree, AiB decides whether to approve your debt payment programme anyway.
6
If your application is approved or rejected
If it is approved you get a letter or email confirming the terms of your debt payment programme, and you must make the first payment within 42 days of approval. If it is rejected, you keep your protection from creditors for 2 weeks.
A money adviser contacts your creditors to agree the terms of your DPP, such as how much you will pay, how often and how long the DPP will last. You also need to meet other conditions, such as paying other bills on time, getting approval to apply for credit over £2,000 and telling your money adviser about a change of circumstances within 1 week.
What happens if you can't keep up payments?
✓Yes: Tell your money adviser or AiB about changes that may affect your payments within one week
✓Yes: A one-month crisis break needs your money adviser's approval
✓Yes: You can apply for a payment break of up to 6 months if your disposable income has gone down 50% or more
✓Yes: Your DAS is extended by the length of any payment break you take
✓Yes: AiB automatically approves changes that will shorten your DAS, like increasing your payment amount
AiB can cancel your DAS if you:
✗No: Apply for bankruptcy or get a protected trust deed (AiB will cancel it)
✗No: Miss 3 payments without having an approved payment break
✗No: Break the conditions of your DPP
✗No: Knowingly give false information about your DPP
✗No: Apply for credit over £2,000 without AiB approving it
If your DAS is cancelled, you owe your creditors any remaining debt you have not repaid, plus the interest, fees and charges they would have added had you not had a DAS. To challenge an AiB decision, ask for a review within 2 weeks of the date of the decision. You or your money adviser can write to AiB or ask online through eDEN.
For credit over £2,000 you need AiB's approval before you apply, unless it is for certain emergency costs, and you must tell creditors in writing that you have a DAS. Your DAS ends when you complete the debt payment programme. It could end early if your creditors agree to write off the debts early or you pay it off with a lump sum. DAS can stay on your credit file for at least 6 years. Our bankruptcy guide covers the alternative.
It lets you pay off your debts at a rate you can afford, and it gives you protection from creditors. The scheme is run by Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), part of the Scottish Government.
Is DAS only available in Scotland?
Yes, DAS is only available in Scotland, and you can only apply through a DAS approved money adviser. In England and Wales, GOV.UK lists a Debt Management Plan, an Administration Order, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement and Breathing Space. A debt management plan does not give you the same protection.
What is a Debt Payment Programme?
It is how you pay your creditors under DAS, with regular payments that can sometimes run for longer than your credit agreement. While you have one, creditors cannot ask you for money, take you to court, apply to make you bankrupt or add more interest, fees or charges. If some creditors disagree with the proposal, AiB decides whether to approve it anyway.
What is the Moratorium on Diligence?
It is temporary protection that lasts for 6 months, during which creditors are not allowed to take any action to recover what you owe. They cannot arrest your bank account, freeze your wages or apply to make you bankrupt. It is not a debt solution: it does not write off debt or stop interest or charges being added to any money you owe. You can apply yourself, or a money adviser can apply for you.
Can I include all my debts in a DAS?
You can include existing debts like bank account overdrafts, buy now pay later credit and credit cards. You must include all your existing debts unless they are rent or mortgage arrears, which you can choose whether to include, or types of debt you cannot include. You cannot include student loans, hire purchase or conditional sale agreements (except arrears) or court fines, or ongoing payments such as child maintenance payments, council tax bills, and rent or mortgage.
Does DAS affect my credit file?
Credit reference agencies can check the DAS register and add the DAS to your credit file, where it can stay for at least 6 years.
What happens if my DAS is cancelled?
You owe your creditors any remaining debt you have not repaid, plus the interest, fees and charges they would have added had you not had a DAS. You might be able to appeal the cancellation through AiB.
Know Your Rights UK. "Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS): Scotland's Debt Solution." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/debt/debt-arrangement-scheme