Talk Money Week 2023 – Trust Deed Scotland

6-10 November 2023 marks a week known as Talk Money Week in the UK. It’s an annual event run by Money and Pensions Service and it usually falls on the second week of November of any year. It’s a time for debt charities and companies such as Trust Deed Scotland^® to come together and encourage people to open up about their money and debt worries. Talk Money Week’s focus for 2023 is to encourage people to Do One Thing that could help improve their financial wellbeing, and encourage others to do the same thing. Their suggestions are to talk to a child about pocket money, use one of the free tools or calculators, or get financially educated. The Money and Pensions Service are funded by levies on both the financial services industry and pension schemes and their vision is “Everyone making the most of their money and pensions.” They are an ‘arm’s-length body’ sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, with a joint commitment to ensuring that people throughout the UK have guidance and access to the information they need to make effective financial decisions over their lifetime. They deliver those across five core functions. 1. Pension guidance. 2. Debt advice. 3. Money guidance. 4. Consumer protection. and 5. Strategy.

Why does talking about money and debt matter?

One of the key focuses of Talk Money Week 2023 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.

Building money conversations into our everyday lives also helps us build financial confidence and resilience to face whatever the future throws at us and Talk Money Week’s intention is for you to kickstart a conversation in any walk of life, including:

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

However, it isn’t easy talking about money and debt. Many people fear being judged, embarrassed or ashamed of their debt when the truth is problem debt can happen to anyone.

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

57.4% waited over a year before finally asking for help with their unaffordable 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

*It’s important to stress that these answers were taken before the cost of living crisis really started to bite. If this same survey were to take place today, the results would be vastly different. For example, a survey from Smart Energy GB in October 2022 found that almost half of its respondents said they were worried about rising energy costs.

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

In the same survey, 84% of existing Trust Deed Scotland^® & Harper McDermott customers said that their mental health had improved, with 30.39% of our customers also saying that their physical health improved also.

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 Soreena, Clang wrote: “The process was quick and Soreena was right on top of it all. I’m so happy my wage arrestment will be lifted and I can now get on top of my debt and finally relax and stop worrying. I’m so happy I made the choice to enter into a Trust Deed and the advice and help I received was just amazing.“

Jane, speaking about her experience with our debt adviser Barry, said “I have just recently started the process of setting up a DAS with Trust Deed Scotland and have had Barry as my point of contact from when I first submitted my enquiry. This has made the process a lot easier as your not having to explain things to someone new each time. Barry has been very good at explaining everything to me and answering any questions I’ve had. He always phones at a time that is convenient for me. I feel like for the first time in a long time I can breathe and can actually start to see past the debt.“

Another customer wrote about the beginning of his journey with Jacqui by saying: “My adviser Jacqui was an absolute pleasure to deal with, and put me at my ease throughout the whole process. She was so attentive, super helpful and such a friendly person. Nothing was too much trouble for her in helping me through the entire process from the start to completion. I would go so far as to say that Jacqui has not just met expectations, she has exceeded them by her friendly, efficient and helpful manner. It has made such a huge difference already. It feels as if there’s been a huge weight and burden lifted from my shoulders and I can finally start living my life again.“

Start a conversation about your unaffordable debt

Our experienced, friendly debt advisers offer tailored debt advice and explain the advantages and disadvantages of any formal debt solutions that you may be eligible for. You can contact Trust Deed Scotland^® on 0141 221 0999 or use our Trust Deed Debt Calculator to find out more about your options.

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