Why does talking about money and debt matter?
One of the key focuses of Talk Money Week 2022 is to encourage conversations about unaffordable debt. By having a conversation, you can improve your physical, mental and financial wellbeing. Money and Pensions research shows that talking about money can help you to:- Make better and less risky financial decisions
- Have stronger personal relationships
- Help your children form good lifetime money habits
- Feel less stressed or anxious and more in control.
- In your workplace
- At home with friends and family
- In educational establishments, or with debt charities
- With the people to who you owe money to
How long do people wait before getting help with their debt?
In a 2022 study of existing Trust Deed Scotland® & Harper McDermott customers.- 17% got help with their unaffordable debt straight away
- 25% waited up to 1 year before asking for help
- 30% waited between 1-2 years before asking for help
- 14% waited between 3-4 years before asking for help
- 14% waited over 4 years before asking for help with debt
What type of debts worried our customers most?
Credit card debts are the most troublesome type of debt that our customers encounter.- 33.84% were worried about credit card debts in Scotland
- 24.33% were concerned about a personal loan
- 11.60% thought that their overdraft was a worrying debt
- 7.20% were worried about council tax arrears debt
- 6.68% are worried about payday loan debt
- 4.04% are worried about a buy now pay later agreement
- 3.31% were worried about their gas & electric bills*
- 2.98% were worried about rent arrears debt
- 2.95% were worried about HMRC debts
- Lastly, 3.07% were worried about another type of unaffordable debt
What impact did debt have on our customers’ mental health?
We asked our customers if their mental or physical health was impacted by their debt problem and overall 91.36% of our respondents’ mental health was impacted by their debt problem.- 57.61% – Yes – My mental health was affected
- 1.33% – Yes – My physical health was affected
- 33.75% – Yes – Both my mental and physical health were affected
- 7.30% – No – My mental or physical health was not impacted by my debt problem
What do people who have previously started a conversation with Trust Deed Scotland® say about their experience?
At Trust Deed Scotland® we currently have over [reviews] reviews from our customers, with a rating of 5/5 rating on Trustpilot. In addition to this statistic, our survey shows that: 97.7% of our customers said they were satisfied or better with the Debt Arrangement Scheme as their chosen debt solution. 98.8% of our customers said they were satisfied or better with a Trust Deed as their chosen debt solution. Our survey asked all active customers for their feedback and also those who had recently been discharged from a debt solution. Our Trust Deed Scotland reviews are just as important to us, not only as a signal that our customers are happy with the service that they have received from us but also because they allow people with problem debt in Scotland to find other individuals who were once in the same position that they too find themselves in Some of those reviews are anonymised by our customers to protect their own identities. Many of the reviews go into great detail, and some contain just a few words. Either way, they are always written completely in our customers’ own words describing their experience in their reviews and we’re always grateful to receive them; both good and bad. We’re always keen to take action on any feedback that we receive to make improvements to our processes wherever we can and continuously improve our own learning and development as a leading Scottish debt solutions provider. Our experienced debt advisers received reviews in the run-up to Talk Money Week 2022 which perfectly described many of the feelings that individuals have when they’re looking for help with their unaffordable debt.Reviewing one of our experienced debt advisers Sharon, Sheila wrote: “Thank you to Sharon this process was a lot less painful for me. She put me totally at ease with my situation, was helpful, explained things well, was kind, friendly, and had a bit of humour. I felt like I was talking to a friend rather than a debt advisor. The whole experience took only 24hrs after struggling for the last 6 months to find the courage to call.”
Shaun, speaking about his experience with our debt adviser Michael, said “Great experience from start to finish. I had been trying to avoid a trust deed for a long time. Micheal, who I initially spoke with, was brilliant and made me feel at ease right away. He was very understanding and reassuring. The fact you only speak with the same person throughout the whole process is great. I felt I could contact Micheal at any point for advice, always available or would respond ASAP. Obviously, a highly experienced company that are calming during what can be an uneasy time.”
Another customer wrote about the beginning of her debt journey with Valerie by saying: “After burying my head in the sand with stress and worry for over a year, due to being laid off through covid and a looming court case, I just gave up on all debt and direct debits! But after getting back to work and the court case not having as bad an effect as first feared it would. There was still the weight and pressure of thinking I had messed up my life, by not paying debts and thinking I’d never get back on my feet, Then I heard of Trust Dead Scotland, and there was a lovely lady called Val that took on my case and from start to finish she was an absolute star, making me feel at ease with a solution that best suited. To even finding out who I owed the money to, as I had no idea what each creditor was due and what for. I really just had given up before and so had no clue, but after getting in touch with Trust Dead Scotland and Val, I can finally look to the future and il be back on my feet in no time.”