Scott and Co

Scott and Co Help

Have you received a letter from a Scott and Co Sheriff saying they are about to visit your house?

Do you need advice & help on how deal with Scott and Co?

Are they chasing you for Council Tax, Business Rates or Benefit Overpayments?

Don't panic, Below you'll find out everything there is to know about how to deal with Scott and Co, what to do if a Scott and Co Sheriff is at your house, how to stop a Sheriff taking your car.

What should I do?

IMPORTANT!!! If a Sheriff is at your door, pretend you are not home and DO NOT LET THEM IN!

Sheriff’s may not force entry to a home, when you’re not in, unless they are enforcing an eviction. If the Sheriff is at your door, or has left a calling card, call the Sheriffs Helpline on 0800 368 8231 immediately.

If you have received a letter or calling card from a Sheriff claiming that you have an outstanding debt or if you’ve been visited by Scott and Co the best thing to do is to call the Sheriff Helpline immediately.

We can provide advice, free of charge. We will speak to the Sheriff's office on your behalf, and can arrange for a temporary hold on Enforcement action, whilst the problem is sorted out.

Who are Scott and Co?

Scott and Co are Scotlands largest provider of diligence and citation services. Which basically means they collect and serve writs and summons issued by the Courts.

They are the largest emplpyer of Sheriff Offices and Messengers-at-Arms in Scotland

In 2015 they became part of the Marstons Group. The UK's largest Sheriff company.

N.B. it is not Scott and Co that are authorised by the Courts to enforce their orders, but the individual Sheriff Officers and Messenger at Arms.

It is also important to note they act with the authority of the Court, so if you prevent them from doing their job, you could be found in contempt of court. This is a serious offence and can be punished by either a fine, or in the worst cases, a prison sentence.

Scott and Co specialise in the collection of Council tax debt, penalty charge notices and non-domestic rates, throughout Scotland

Why are Scott and Co Contacting Me?

They are trying to enforce a Court order made against you.

The Court orders that they serve on you can be for:

Are Sheriffs the police?

Sheriff officers are not the same as the police.

The can only enforce a Court Order or serve legal papers

They do often get issued a Civil Warrant, which allows them to dtain or remove someone from the premises.

Ask to check a Sheriff's identity?

You have the right to ask for a sheriff officer's identity if they come to your home or workplace.

Every sheriff officer has to carry a red identity booklet with them which contains:

• a photograph of themselves
• the crest of the Scottish court service
• the signature of the sheriff clerk for the area they work in

The Sheriff must show you thire identity booklet if you ask for it.

If you are still not convinced they are who they say they are, you can call Scott and Co and ask them to confirm.

The 3 steps the Sheriffs will take to collect the debt:

Step 1

They will issue a "Charge to Pay" or "Charge for Payment".

This is baisically a letter telling you to pay the debt within 14 days.

Most people ignore this thinking it will go away. IT WON'T.

If you can't afford to pay it in full within the 14 days. Call us on 0800 368 8231 so we can negotiate an affordable monthly payment plan with your creditors.

Step 2

If you have not paid within the 14 days. The Sheriff will move to step 2, which could mean arresting your wages, freezing your bank account, or petitioning for your bankruptcy.

Step 3

Sheriff Officers may gain an ‘interim attachment of goods’, an ‘attachment of goods’, or an ‘exceptional attachment of goods’. This means that they can take your property to pay off your debts, but they are only entitled to access into your home under an ‘exceptional attachment of goods’.

Scott and Co are threaning attachment of goods?

They have the legal power to remove and sell your belongings to pay a debt you owe. In most cases, SHERIFFS only get involved after your creditor has taken you to court.

The sheriff officer must be in possession of an attachment order from the court before they can seize any items.

If a Sheriff get into your home they can take:

They can not take:

A full list of what they can and can't seize is listed in Schedule 2 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002

Proving that the items don't belong to you isn't always easy.

Call the Sheriff's Helpline on 0800 368 8231 if you need help with this.

If Scott and Co have taken your goods.

If the Sheriff has taken your goods you can still get them back, but you will have to:

• Settle your debt before the goods are sold by Scott and Co.
• Make an agreement with your creditor and get them to ask Scott and Co to return your goods.
• You buy the goods back yourself.
• The Sheriff did not follow the correct procedure when they took your goods.

If any of these goods are removed, you have 14 days to ask to have them returned under ‘Section 11 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act’.

Can Scott and Co take my car?

Cars are one of the most popular things for a Sheriff to seize. This is because they usually have value, are easy to seize and also for the Sheriff to sell on.

SHERIFFS are allowed to take cars and vehicles, but they have to follow certain rules.

• A Sheriff can only take control of a vehicle that's actually owned solely or jointly by the debtor.
• A car belonging to a third-party cannot be taken. So if your car is on a HP agreement they can not take it.
• A car displaying a Blue Disabled Badge cannot be taken.

Call the Sheriff Helpline on 0800 368 8231 if you need help.

Top Tip: Hide your car

If you don't want your car to be taken, you can park it on private land, such as a friend's driveway or a car park. A Sheriff can take your car if it is parked on a public highway, but they can't take a car parked on private land belonging to someone else without a court order.

What can they charge?

The fees that a Scott and Co Sheriff can charge are outlined under the Act of Sederunt

They are a bit complicated, and depend on the stage and type of action they are taking against you.

Basically fees increase with each stage of action the Sheriffs office takes.

So if you have received an letter from Scott and Co through the post, don't ignore it. If you do not contact them they will proceed to stage two and charge you more fees, when they send a Sheriff to knock on your door.

It may not be too late for you to negotiate a payment scheme with a Sheriff on your own.

However, we suggest that you contact us immediately for free advice, we can easily deal with Scott and Co for you.

Call the Sheriff Helpline on 0800 368 8231

Can I avoid Sheriff fees by paying the Council or Court direct?

The short answer to this is "NO".

Once a court order has been passed to the Sheriffs office and the enforcement agency has issued a "Charge for Payment", the Sheriff fees becomes legally due and the ‘amount outstanding’ will include the Sheriff fees.

• Company Name: Scott & Co (Scotland) LLP
• Other Names: Scott and Co, Scott and Co Sheriffs
• Address:
  12 Drumsheugh Gardens,
  Edinburgh,
  EH3 7QG
  
• Scott & Co Contact Number: 0333 320 6827
• Fax: Non on file
• Website: www.scottandco.uk.com
• Email: Non on file
• Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
  Saturday - Sunday: Closed

Please note that we are not associated with Scott and Co in any way. The information on this page is provided to help people contact their creditors.

If you’re finding it difficult to make your monthly payments to Scott and Co you may need help looking at your budget and managing your debt. We deal with Sheriffs all day, every day and we know exactly how to approach them. If you’re struggling to repay a debt and would like us to deal with Scott and Co on your behalf, or simply need a bit of advice, just click on the STOP SHERIFFS NOW button below.

• Last updated 02 January 2023

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