Bank and earnings arrestments in Scotland

Bank arrestment and earnings arrestment are not the same

A bank arrestment can freeze funds held by a bank or building society. An earnings arrestment involves deductions from earnings by an employer. Both may arise in Scottish debt enforcement, but the paperwork and possible responses differ.

Do not confuse these with a voluntary Direct Debit, an employer’s routine deduction or a trustee’s separate payment mechanism. Ask what exact legal process appears on the notice.

If your bank account is affected

Contact a Scottish debt adviser promptly with the arrestment notice, creditor details, account information and recent statements. Tell them if you cannot access money needed for essentials or if benefits, another person’s money or a joint account are involved.

There are protected funds and possible routes to challenge or restrict an arrestment. The applicable amounts and procedure should be checked for your case rather than guessed from an old online figure. Citizens Advice’s Scotland guidance explains the stages and available help.

Ask the bank what has been frozen, on whose instructions, and what documents it has issued. Do not assume that an informal agreement with a collector has already released the money.

If your employer is making deductions

Collect the notice and payslips showing the deductions. Note the creditor, reference, start date, pay frequency and any other deductions.

Ask payroll to identify the instruction it is following, then show it to an adviser. A change in take-home pay can affect the affordability of rent, current bills and an existing debt arrangement, so explain the whole budget.

This guide deliberately does not publish an arrestment calculator: current statutory tables and the particular type of instruction must be applied correctly.

How does protected trust deed status affect earnings arrestment?

AiB’s current guidance states that an earnings arrestment ceases to have effect on protection of a trust deed, subject to the relevant statutory provisions. It also describes restrictions on new earnings arrestments after protection. Read AiB’s diligence guidance.

Ask your trustee to confirm the protection date, explain how the instruction is dealt with and address any continuing deduction. Do not instruct payroll to disregard formal papers on the strength of this webpage.

Do not apply the earnings rule automatically to frozen bank funds

A bank arrestment already in place raises a different question. Tell the trustee when it occurred and provide the schedule and bank correspondence. Do not assume that signing a trust deed automatically returns money already frozen or transferred.

For the wider limits, read trust deeds and enforcement. For imminent action, use the free Scottish advice directory.