Certain inaccuracies in the RSP may, if they are not removed from the register, prejudice providers or third parties.
For instance, if a statutory pledge has been paid off, the provider might be prejudiced against if that statutory pledge is not then removed from the register by the secured creditor.
The same would apply if property was removed from a statutory pledge but the secured creditor did not then correct the register to reflect that removal or if property was, as a result of applicant error, incorrectly described in the register as being affected by a statutory pledge.
Section 98 of the 2023 Act provides for a demand-led correction solution, culminating, where necessary, in an online application to the Keeper, to clear the RSP of inaccuracy in such instances.
The section section 98 correction solution applies to only two categories of person:
- a person identified as the provider in a Statutory Pledges Record entry but who claims either not to be or that the property identified as being the encumbered property is not, in fact, encumbered (section 98(2))
- a person with a right in property which is identified as being the encumbered property but who believes that that property is not, in fact, encumbered (section 98(3)).
Where such a person believes that a Statutory Pledges Record entry is so inaccurate, they can issue a demand to the registered secured creditor that they apply for correction under section section 96(1) of the 2023 Act (a Secured Creditor Correction).
If the secured creditor does not then correct the register, that person can apply to the Keeper for the correction themselves (section 98(6)).
No other category of person is legally able to use the Correction Demand process and that process cannot be used for any other type of inaccuracy.
It is likely that the Correction Demand process will be used primarily where an entry in the Statutory Pledges Record becomes redundant due to the debt being fully repaid. In such a case, the registered provider could use the process to demand that the secured creditor deletes the entry.
If the register is not then corrected by the secured creditor, the provider can then apply to the Keeper for correction.
If you require to make an application to the Keeper for correction under section 98(6) of the 2023 Act, an application can be made using the Keeper’s online registration system.
Correction Demand Correction applications attract a fee of £10 per Statutory Pledges Record entry corrected, as provided for in The Registers of Scotland (Fees) Order 2014 (as amended by The Registers of Scotland (Voluntary Registration, Amendment of Fees etc.) Order 2015, The Registers of Scotland (Fees) Amendment Order 2021, and The Registers of Scotland (Fees and Plain Copies) Miscellaneous Amendments Order 2024).
Where the applicant in a Correction Demand Correction application is a non-RoS account holder, the applicant must have a valid credit/debit card in order to make payment.
Applicant Requirements
Before any Correction Demand Correction application can be made to the Keeper, an initial demand for correction must be sent to the registered secured creditor as required by section section 98(1) of the 2023 Act.
A Correction Demand correction applicant need not provide any evidence to the Keeper to support the correction being made.
An applicant can, however, optionally upload any documentation considered by them to disclose, or to contribute to disclosing, the inaccuracy to be corrected by that correction application (Rule 37(5) of the 2024 Rules).
All submitted correction documentation will be added to the RSP Archive and will be publicly viewable to anyone requesting an extract or plain copy from that Archive.
The Keeper will not make any determination or assessment regarding the accuracy of any part of the Correction Demand Correction application being made, including whether the statutory requirements of section section 98 of the 2023 Act have been complied with/met by the applicant (Rule 37(1) of the 2024 Rules).
An applicant must, however, provide the following information to support their correction application (Rule 37(2)(b) of the 2024 Rules):
- the registration number of the record entry to be corrected;
- the name and address of the applicant;
- the name and address of the provider(s) of the Statutory Pledge as they appear in the record entry to be corrected;
- the registered creditor’s name and address as it appears in the record entry to be corrected;
- the name and address (which may be an email address) of the registered creditor to which a section 98(1) demand has been sent; and
- a description of the correction(s) required to be made to the record entry to be corrected.
The submission of this information is mandatory. An application for Correction Demand Correction will not be acceptable for submission unless all mandatory information fields in the Keeper’s online registration system are completed.
Unlike all other RSP applications received by the Keeper, the Correction Demand Correction process is not an automated process. Each correction application will be considered on an individual basis by the Keeper’s staff.
A Correction Demand Correction application can therefore be rejected after submission, if an applicant does not provide the required application details, in terms of Rule 37(2)(b) of the 2024 Rules, or does so but in such a way as to prevent correction from taking place.
Additionally, rejection would be required if any uploaded document(s) failed to pass virus scan stage.
In terms of section section 99(2) of the 2023 Act, if rejecting a Correction Demand Correction application, the Keeper must inform the applicant, or, as the case may be, their agent, accordingly.
Where rejection occurs for failure to fully comply with the terms of Rule 37(2)(b) of the 2024 Rules, the Keeper will notify the applicant or, as the case may be, their agent, by email.
Where there is a failure to pass virus scan stage, the Keeper will notify the applicant, or as the case may be, their agent, that the application cannot be progressed until a virus-free document is submitted and give instructions to replace the document.
If the document isn't replaced, the Keeper will issue an email reminder after 20 days, advising that the application will be rejected in another 10 days (30 days after submission) unless a replacement document is submitted.
If no virus-free document is submitted by 30 days after submission, the application will be rejected and the applicant, or as the case may be, their agent, notified by email.
If a Correction Demand Correction application is successfully submitted, and a virus check of any submitted correction documentation is successful, the Keeper will then carry out a number of activities as required by section 99(3) of the 2023 Act. The Keeper will:
(a) serve a notice on the registered creditor stating that the Keeper intends to correct the Statutory Pledges Record 21 days after the date of service of that notice, the date of service being:
- where service is by email, the date of sending; and
- where service is by post, the day after the date on the notice.
(b) note on the record entry to be corrected that the Correction Demand Correction application has been received, the date of receipt and details of the correction(s) sought;
(c) issue a written statement to the applicant verifying receipt of the application; and
(d) if the registered provider in the record entry to be corrected is not the applicant, notify that provider that a notice has been served on the registered creditor.
The registered creditor can oppose the Keeper’s intended correction, but only by applying to the court before the Keeper’s intended date of correction (section 99(4)(a) of the 2023 Act).
The registered creditor must also notify the Keeper before the intended date of correction that they have made a court application (section 99(4)(b) of the 2023 Act).
If no notification of a court challenge is received before the intended date of correction, the Keeper will make the required correction (if the secured creditor has not already done so) on that date (section 99(8) of the 2023) and notification of that correction will be automatically sent to relevant parties.
Where correcting the RSP as a result of a Correction Demand Correction application, the Keeper will send a notification of the fact of correction having taken place, in so far as it is reasonable and practicable to do so, by email where an email address is held, or by post, if not, to:
(a) the provider (including purported providers);
(b) the registered creditor;
(c) the applicant, if not the provider or registered creditor; and
(d) any other person who appears to the Keeper to be affected by it materially.
The Keeper’s default approach, however, will be to notify the fact of Correction Demand Correction having taken place to all email addresses held by the Keeper in relation to the corrected Statutory Pledges Record entry.
Notification may, as will be the case for the majority of applications, be to the respective agents of above parties.
Applicants for Correction Demand Correction should provide email addresses for those parties to be notified, or as the case may be, their respective agents, where asked for by the Keeper’s online registration system, for notification purposes.
It will be possible to supply more than one email address for each of the parties to be notified. The Keeper will send a notification to each email address provided by the applicant for this purpose.
These email addresses will also be held by the Keeper for use in connection with the notification of any future correction of the Statutory Pledges Record entry to which the correction application relates.
Correction Demand Correction Notifications will contain a link to a web page or "landing page", which will contain details of the correction to which the Correction Notification relates, including a PDF version of the full record entry. The PDF will be a snapshot of the Statutory Pledges Record entry position as at that date, and, although it does not have the evidential status of an extract requested under section 106 of the 2023 Act, it fully reflects the Statutory Pledges Record entry after completion of the application to which the Correction Notification relates.
All parties notified by email will receive the same Correction Notification, and all parties will be able to access the respective PDF. The parties notified will be free to forward on the link to the landing page as they see fit and it will be possible to print or to save the PDF's locally to their own systems. The link to the landing page will be available for a 30-day period, which should allow the parties adequate time to access it following the correction of the record entry.
Where a Correction Notification is sent by post, this will contain details of the correction to which the Correction Notification and a paper version of the PDF document referred to above.
Before making such a Correction Demand Correction application to the Keeper, a prospective applicant should be mindful that the effect of section 109(4) of th 2023 Act is that the Keeper is entitled to reasonably believe all information, including all documentation, provided by applicant in connection with a Correction Demand Correction application.
As such, if the Keeper introduces inaccuracy into the RSP as a result of reflecting on the register wrong information supplied to them as part of a Correction Demand Correction application, then this will not be an inaccuracy for which they are liable.
Rather, the Correction Demand Correction applicant may be liable under section 110(1) of the 2023 Act for any loss suffered in consequence of that inaccuracy being introduced into a Statutory Pledges Record entry.
As with others of the Keeper’s registers, the court can direct the Keeper to correct the RSP under section 100(1) of the 2023 Act, for instance to remove an entry for a reduced fraudulent Statutory Pledge.
If you have a court order directing the Keeper to correct an inaccuracy in the RSP, this can be brought to the Keeper’s attention.
The correction of such an inaccuracy does not attract a fee.
Where correcting the register as a result of a court order, the Keeper will send a notification of the fact of correction having taken place, in so far as it is reasonable and practicable to do so, by email where such an address is held and by post, if not, to:
(a) the provider (including purported providers);
(b) the registered creditor;
(c) the applicant, if not the provider or registered creditor; and
(d) any other person who appears to the Keeper to be affected by it materially.
The Keeper’s default, however, approach will be to notify the fact of court-directed correction having taken place to all email addresses held by the Keeper in relation to the corrected Statutory Pledges Record entry.
Court-directed Correction Notifications will contain a link to a web page or "landing page", which will contain details of the correction to which the Correction Notification relates, including a PDF version of the full record entry. The PDF will be a snapshot of the Statutory Pledges Record entry position as at that date, and, although it does not have the evidential status of an extract requested under section 106 of the 2023 Act, it fully reflects the Statutory Pledges Record entry after completion of the correction to which the Correction Notification relates.
All parties notified by email will receive the same Correction Notification, and all parties will be able to access the respective PDF. The parties notified will be free to forward on the link to the landing page as they see fit and it will be possible to print or to save the PDF's locally to their own systems. The link to the landing page will be available for a 30-day period, which should allow the parties adequate time to access it following the correction of the record entry.
Where a Correction Notification is sent by post, this will contain details of the correction to which the Correction Notification and a paper version of the PDF document referred to above.