Scott & Co: what a letter means and what to do

A letter from Scott & Co usually means a Scottish council, housing association or other creditor already has a summary warrant or a court decree against you, so sheriff officers can move on to diligence (Scottish enforcement) without going back to court. You still have options, and the most important time to act is the 14 days after a charge for payment. This page covers Scotland. For the general rules, see what sheriff officers can do in Scotland.

Who are Scott & Co?

Scott & Co is registered at Companies House as SCOTT & CO (SCOTLAND) LLP, registration number SO305258. It is an active limited liability partnership, registered on 6 March 2015, with its registered office in Glasgow. The firm gives the same name and number on its website.

Scott & Co says it was set up in 1992 as a traditional Scottish partnership providing debt recovery, diligence and citation services, and grew through acquisitions. It describes itself as the largest provider of diligence and citation services in Scotland and the largest employer of sheriff officers and messengers-at-arms, with officers commissioned in every sheriffdom.

The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers (SMASO) lists Scott & Co with office entries for Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Galashiels, Glasgow and Inverness, and 33 officers, 18 of whom are also messengers-at-arms. Scott & Co’s own contact page names Edinburgh as its head office.

Is Scott & Co part of Marston?

Yes. Scott & Co says it became part of the Marston group on 31 May 2015, along with an associated business, A A Hutton LLP. Companies House lists Marston (Holdings) Limited and Marston Group Limited as the LLP’s designated members since 9 June 2015, and Marston (Holdings) Limited as holding 75% or more of the voting rights.

Marston’s bailiffs work in England and Wales under different law. If you have a letter from Marston about a debt there, see our guide to Marston. Stirling Park, another large Scottish firm, belongs to a different group: see Stirling Park.

A A Hutton was a collection and enforcement firm based in Perth. Scott & Co says day-to-day management of A A Hutton accounts passed to it from 1 April (the page does not give the year), with reference numbers unchanged. A A HUTTON LLP (SO300293) was dissolved on 1 August 2023.

Who regulates Scott & Co?

Sheriff officers are officers of court, employed by private firms. Each is commissioned by a sheriff principal, the Court of Session regulates them, and all must belong to SMASO, which has no disciplinary powers over them. The Enforcement Conduct Board and CIVEA, which cover bailiff firms in England and Wales, do not list Scott & Co.

The FCA register lists Scott & Co (Scotland) LLP (firm reference number 742819) as no longer registered as an appointed representative, and we found no current authorisation. Scott & Co says it is a member of the Credit Services Association, a trade body for debt collectors, and follows its code of practice.

Why are Scott & Co contacting you?

Scott & Co says it is the largest provider of debt collection and sheriff officer services to Scottish local authorities, collecting all their income streams in line with each council’s debt policy. It also collects for housing associations, and serves and enforces court documents for solicitors and other creditors.

Your letter will usually be one of these:

• A summary warrant letter, most often for council tax. A summary warrant is granted without a court hearing and adds a 10% surcharge to the arrears. Once it is granted, you lose the right to pay the council by instalments. See council tax arrears for the council side.
• A charge for payment: a formal demand served by a sheriff officer. It gives you 14 days to pay if you are in the UK. Scott & Co says a charge must be served with a Debt Advice and Information Package before an earnings arrestment.
• An earnings arrestment or bank arrestment, served on your employer or bank after the charge has expired.
• Court papers, such as a simple procedure claim form or a summons. Respond by the date on it and get advice quickly.

Is the debt yours, and is it right?

Check the name, address, creditor, reference number and amount. For council tax, ask the council which years and amounts the summary warrant covers and whether any discount or council tax reduction has been applied. If the debt is for a credit card or loan and has not been to court, you can ask the creditor for the agreement under the Consumer Credit Act 1974: see how to ask a creditor to prove a debt.

Most debts in Scotland are extinguished after 5 years without a relevant claim or acknowledgement, but a court decree lasts 20 years. A money adviser can tell you whether an old debt is still owed.

What can Scott & Co do, and what can they not do?

Scotland has no bailiffs, no notice of enforcement and no Taking Control of Goods fee scale. Scott & Co’s own guidance lists the diligences it uses: charge for payment, arrestment, earnings arrestment, inhibition, attachment and auction, and money attachment in business premises.

After the charge for payment

The charge stays in force for 2 years. If the 14 days pass without payment, you become “apparently insolvent” in law, which a creditor owed £5,000 or more can use to apply to make you bankrupt. It does not mean you are bankrupt. Scott & Co says its litigation team handles sequestration and liquidation proceedings for councils.

Earnings arrestment

An earnings arrestment tells your employer to take money from your net pay every payday until the debt is paid or you leave the job. The amount comes from statutory tables: nothing is taken if your net pay is £750 a month or less, and the share taken rises in bands above that, up to 50% of pay over £3,750 a month. Scott & Co usually serves earnings arrestments on employers by recorded delivery. Its guidance for employers says deductions can be taken from bonuses but not from redundancy pay. Only one earnings arrestment can run against the same wages at a time.

Bank arrestment

A bank arrestment freezes money in your account above a protected amount. The first £1,000 is protected, and the frozen money is released to the creditor 14 weeks after the arrestment is served unless something stops it. You can apply to the sheriff to have arrested funds released.

Attachment, inhibition and entry

Sheriff officers can attach items kept outside your home, such as a car, but a vehicle you reasonably need worth up to £1,000 and tools of your trade up to £1,000 are protected. Goods inside your home can only be attached under an exceptional attachment order granted by the sheriff. Scott & Co’s factsheet for creditors says most attachments it carries out are at business premises. Inhibition, which stops you selling or borrowing against property you own, can be used on a decree. It is not among the diligences the law lists for a council tax summary warrant.

Fees

Sheriff officers’ fees are set by the Court of Session in an Act of Sederunt, not by the firm, and are added to what you owe. A new fees Act of Sederunt, with a unit-based model, applies to work done from 25 September 2026, replacing the 2002 fee tables that Scott & Co’s FAQs refer to. For council tax, a sheriff officer cannot charge you a fee just for collecting your payments and passing them to the council. Ask for a breakdown of any fees on your account.

What should you do at each stage?

When you get a summary warrant letter

Contact Scott & Co straight away, using the details on your letter. Its customer charter says it will assess your circumstances, aim to agree a sustainable payment arrangement, confirm any arrangement in writing and point you to free debt advice where appropriate. It says you can make an offer of payment or a Direct Debit proposal through its website. Offer what you can realistically keep up, backed by a budget.

When you get a charge for payment

Act within the 14 days. You can pay, agree an arrangement, or ask the sheriff court for a time to pay order for most debts under £25,000. HMRC debts are among those excluded. If granted, it stops further diligence while you keep to it.

If your wages or bank account have been arrested

Get money advice the same day if you can. A bank arrestment runs to its 14-week release date whether or not you act, and an adviser can tell you whether an application to the sheriff is worth making.

Is this letter really from Scott & Co?

• Use the contact details on your own paperwork, or on the council’s or creditor’s official website. The council can confirm whether it has passed your account to Scott & Co.
• Do not rely on a number from a search result, or one given in an unexpected text, email or call. This page deliberately does not list the firm’s contact details.
• Scott & Co asks for your 12-digit account number when you contact it, so keep your letter to hand and check the number matches.
• A genuine charge for payment is served by a sheriff officer, and comes with a Debt Advice and Information Package where the law requires one.
• Be wary of anyone pushing you to pay at once into an account you do not recognise.

How do debt solutions in Scotland affect Scott & Co?

Scotland has its own debt solutions. IVAs, debt relief orders and Breathing Space are not available: see can you get an IVA if you live in Scotland?.

• Moratorium on diligence: a money adviser can apply for 6 months of protection from creditor enforcement, usable once every 12 months. An earnings arrestment that started before the moratorium carries on.
• Debt Arrangement Scheme: a Debt Payment Programme repays debts in full over time. Once it is approved, creditors cannot use diligence for the debts in it, and existing arrestments are recalled. Setting one up through a DAS-approved adviser is free.
• Protected Trust Deed: a trust deed usually lasts 48 months, needs debts of at least £5,000, and deals with the debts included once it is protected.
• Bankruptcy: sequestration costs £150 to apply for (some people pay nothing), and the Minimal Asset Process has no fee for people with low income and assets.

Each has costs, conditions and long-term effects on your credit file. Debt solutions in Scotland compares them.

How do you complain about Scott & Co?

1. Complain to Scott & Co. Its complaint handling procedure says it will respond or send a written acknowledgement within 3 working days and issue a final response within 14 working days. If you are still unhappy, you can refer the complaint to its Senior Leadership Team.
2. Escalate conduct complaints. Scott & Co names SMASO for complaints about the behaviour of an individual sheriff officer or messenger-at-arms. mygov.scot also says you can complain to the sheriff principal through your local sheriff court.
3. Complain to the council or creditor. For a council, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is the final stage for complaints about public services in Scotland.

Our guide to dealing with debt collectors covers your rights when a firm is only collecting a debt.

What to do next

1. Work out what stage you are at: a summary warrant letter, a charge for payment or an arrestment. Note the dates.
2. Contact Scott & Co or the council, using official contact details, with an offer you can afford. Keep copies of everything.
3. Get free money advice. MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice Scotland and National Debtline all help people in Scotland, and an adviser can apply for a moratorium. See where to get free debt advice.