Allpay Mobile Payment app

Posted on May 16, 2013 by C M

Walker Love launches the Allpay mobile payment app to its customers. Find out how you can get it.

The Allpay mobile payment app. The app which helps you to manage your debts > Download the app now

More than 14,000 people have downloaded allpay’s Payment App in the last 12 months and are using it to regularly pay bills such as rent and council tax, new figures show.

Walker Love’s customers can download it for free – allowing you to pay their bills anytime, anywhere and you to receive the payment data the next working day. >Visit the Allpay website

More than 300 organisations, the majority of which are housing associations and local authorities, are now regularly receiving payments in this way. However, its uses don’t stop there. allpay Cashless customers are using it to top up their accounts, while others are using it to pay fines and manage debts.

The allpay App is a mobile application (App) available to download from the Apple App store or Google Play >more information

Allpay has also recently launched a new version of the Payment App which includes a barcode reader and the ability for residents to make one-time payments where they don’t need to store an allpay Payment Reference Number (PRN) or bank card.

For more information on the Allpay App and to download >click here

Simple Guide to the BAD Act

Posted on May 6, 2013 by C M

The Bankruptcy & Diligence Etc (Scotland) Act 2007 contains 17 Parts and Six Schedules. One of the most succinct, but relevant sections of the B.A.D. Act can be found at Part 17 Section 227 (3) which states that sections of the Act “come into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers may, by order, appoint.”

To download click here >Simple Guide to BAD Act – Walker Love

In view of the complexity and the far-reaching effect that each section of the Act has on the execution of diligence, it was essential that this paragraph was inserted.

The overarching principal of the B.A.D. Act is “universal attachability.” It envisaged:

the introduction of four completely new diligences: Land Attachment, Residual Attachment, Interim Attachment and Money Attachment.
the formation of a “Scottish Civil Enforcement Commission” (SCEC) additional “Debtor Protection” procedures including the introduction of a Debt Advice and Information Package.
reform of some existing diligences and the complete abolition of others, including the abolition of personnel such as Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers who were to be re-named “Judicial Officers”.

However, both Land and Residual Attachment have been delayed somewhat and the whole concept of SCEC appears to have been abandoned, as has the Abolition of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers.

To download click here >Simple Guide to BAD Act – Walker Love

Scotland’s civil court system to be overhauled

Posted on April 7, 2013 by C M

Following the recommendations published in Lord Gill’s report on Scottish Civil Courts where he called for courts to be more responsive to the public’s needs and to deal with cases more swiftly and efficiently, radical plans have been announced to overhaul Scotland’s ‘antiquated’ civil courts.

The court reform consultation which is due to be published soon is expected to contain:

A proposal to create Scotland’s first national personal injury Sheriff Court, which will help to tackle the spiralling costs associated with PI claims.
Improved procedures for handling less serious criminal cases.
Plans to increased the threshold under which only the Sheriff Court can deal with civil cases from £5000 to £150000.

Lord Gill’s two year study of the Scotland’s civil courts system recommended a major transfer of jurisdiction from the Court of Session to the Sheriff Court to allow more cases to be dealt with at a local level, instead of at the Court of Session. This will enable the CoS to focus on the most serious and complex cases – and to speed up the whole process in both Courts.

Changes to earnings arrestment deductions & protected minimum balance (PMB) come into force on 6th April 2013

Posted on March 7, 2013 by C M

The Accountant in Bankruptcy has accounced changes to the The Debtor Scotland Act 1987, Schedule 2, which sets out the amount that can be deducted from a debtor’s wages in an earnings arrestment.

An earnings arrestment is when a debtor’s employer receives an instruction to deduct an amount from an employee’s wages and pays it direct to their creditors.

Following a scheduled Ministerial review, the the deduction tables will be amended with effect from 6 April 2013 by The Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2012.

This change also alters the Protected Minimum Balance in bank arrestments. The PMB sets out a minimum amount which is protected from arrestment and provides important protection for those who may have their bank account arrested. The PMB will increase from £415 to £460.06.

Further information will be posted on this Accountant in Bankruptcy’s website about the changes to diligence against earnings before they come into force on 6 April 2013.

Law 2013

Posted on March 1, 2013 by C M

The Scottish legal profession’s largest training congress and exhibition to be held both in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Walker Love is supporting the Commercial Litigation and Criminal Law Conferences at the Edinburgh event on 1st and 2nd May at the Raddison Blu Hotel.

Dorothy Lowe, Partner will be chairing the Criminal Law Conference and David Walker will be addressing the commercial litigators (details below) and we will be exhibiting in the main conference.

European Citation and Enforcement

David Walker will provide an informative overview on the practical implementation of current EU rules on service and enforcement in other European Jurisdictions.

Today’s global economy and the relaxation of travel and employment legislation throughout Europe, has resulted in a significant rise in the number of instructions managed by Sheriff Officers in respect of transmitting services abroad and also executing citation and diligence received from other EU jurisdictions.

For its part the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT and THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, have developed specific legislation to improve the speed of transmission of citation such as EU Reg.1393/2007 which has dramatically improved the efficiency of cross border services.

Furthermore, recent legislation has been developed to help creditors enforce their judgements by doing away with the need to sue other jurisdictions, which has made cross border enforcement a lot quicker and relatively inexpensive.

In addition to explaining the legal process, the speaker will give an insight into the peculiar nature of many of the other European Judicial Officers responsible for managing your client’s instructions abroad, which can determine if the service will be completed in days instead of months!

Other speakers at the Commercial Litigation conference on 2nd May include:

Alan McMillan, Burness: Commercially Sensible? The problem of interpretation
Alan Stalker, Young & partners: Unfair Contract Terms & Information Security.

The speakers at the Criminal Law Conference on 1st May include:

Bill McVicar, McVicars: Criminal Law Update
Niall McCluskey, Connarty Associates: Advocacy Tips
Murray Macara QC, Beltrami & Co: Examination-in-chief and cross examination
David Jack,
The Carloway review – Bill McVicar, McVicars
Legal Aid and criminal practice – Ian Bryce, Central Criminal Lawyers
The admissibility of evidence of previous convictions and bad character – Neil Hay, MTM Defence Lawyers
The Scotland Act 13 years on – Niall McCluskey, Advocate, Connarty Advocates.

For more information on the services we provide to professional services firms, including citation & diligence, professional investigations and to find out how we can help with your pre-litigation enquiries, visit us at stand 4 in Glasgow on October 30^th or 31^st.

New debt advice service launched for Armed Forces

Posted on February 19, 2013 by C M

Glasgow’s Helping Heroes is a new partnership to help those who are serving in the Armed Forces through the maze of advice and assistance that is available to them. The service is also available to members of the Armed Forces immediate family and carers.

If you need advice on any of the following issues call this number now: 0141-276-7199 or visit www.glasgowshelpingheroes.org or email: arlene.mochan@glasgow.gov.uk

Housing and homelessness
Employability
Benefits
Debts
Mental and physical health issues
Financial grants

All advice is FREE and CONFIDENTIAL. Glasgows Helping Heroes is a division of SSAFA Forces Glasgow Branch. Charity Nos: SCO38056, 210760.

If you are looking for additional debt advice click here

Welfare Reforms going too deep and too fast

Posted on January 10, 2013 by C M

According to Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister “these reforms are coming against the back drop of some of the biggest cuts that we have seen to the welfare system in a generation.

“(On 7^th January) we saw child benefits start to be removed from many people we estimate that will affect almost 100,000 people across Scotland and of course today the UK government presses ahead with plans to put a cap on increases to benefits including the benefits for many people who are working hard in low paid jobs.

“We would estimate that the cap on benefits including tax credits will affect around 700,000 working households across Scotland.

“So clearly these are changes with a big big impact in Scotland and I think they will cause more pain for some of the most vulnerable people and families across our society who are already struggling to cope.”

Nicola Sturgeon was giving evidence to the Welfare Reform committee on the 8^th January. The committee was taking evidence on the Scottish government’s passported benefits consultation.

At our last Local Forum, we heard from the Scottish Government’s Local Authority spokesman Robin Haynes on the impact on Local Authorities of council tax benefit reduction, and from Peter Meehan a Local Authority Benefit Consultant on the solutions available to Local Authorities and Housing Associations to tackle the potential impacts of welfare reform and the introduction of universal credit later this year.

If you would like a copy of the notes and presentations please contact Chris Bell, Partner, Revenue and Collections.

University of Strathclyde Law Clinic

Posted on December 4, 2012 by C M

Walker Love experts host a well received session on the increasingly important task of enforcing court judgements. The session which took place earlier in 2012 was hosted by Chris Bell and Angus MacKinnon of Walker Love.

The Law Clinic was launched in October 2003 in order to provide free legal assistance to people in Glasgow and the surrounding area who are unable to obtain legal assistance through other means.

The Clinic is intended to be complementary to existing legal services provided by lawyers and other agencies such as Citizens’ Advice Bureaux. The Law Clinic is part of the University of Strathclyde Law School. It was established and is overseen by Professor Donald Nicolson, who has extensive experience in law clinic work, both as a student advisor and founder of the University of Bristol Law Clinic.

Personal insolvencies fall

Posted on December 4, 2012 by C M

Figures released by the Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, at the end of October for Q2 2012-13 have a shown a decrease in personal insolvencies of 24.5% compared to the same period last year and this is coupled with a decrease 27.5% from the previous quarter.

According to the AiB, the decrease is due to the reduced number of bankruptcies by debtor application in the second quarter. There were a particularly high number of debtor application awards in the previous quarter in advance of the increase in fees charged for this form of bankruptcy. However, we have still witnessed a decrease of debtor applications by more than a third when compared to the same period last year.

Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Fegus Ewing said that the decrease was expected due to the necessary fee increase for bankruptcy applications and that the Scottish Government and its agencies were committed to breaking the cycle of debt and highlighted the work the AiB is doing on bankruptcy reform.

There are a range of options available to you if you are struggling with your debts. For more information click here.

Local Authority Forum 2012

Posted on October 30, 2012 by C M

The Forum is designed to provide local authorities with an opportunity to meet and discuss the key issues impacting the collection of local taxes and non-domestic rates. The Forum also looks at the innovative debt recovery approaches which are being taken in other local authority areas in the UK and in the private sector.

The Forum’s aim is to share ideas, knowledge and experiences and to help our local authorities’ clients to improve their debt recovery approaches, processes and techniques.

With comment and presentations from Walker Love’s partners and a selection of guest speakers, the Forum takes place on a regular basis at a convenient central Scotland location.

The most recent Forum focused on the outcome of the consultation on Bankruptcy Law Reform and the potential impact of the issues arising from the impending Universal Credit legislation and implementation in 2013.

The speakers included:

Claire Orr, AiB Executive Director of Policy and Compliance
Robin Haynes, Local Government Division, Scottish Government
Peter Meehan, Local Authority benefit and taxation consultant

If you would like to find out more about taking part in future forums please contact Chris Bell, Partner in the first instance.