Debt Advice

Debt Advice and Money Problems

 

If you are worried about debt, you are not alone. Many people contact us because they are struggling to keep up with bills, credit cards, loans, council tax, rent arrears, energy bills or other debts.

We provide general debt advice and support. Some people may also need specialist debt advice and, where this is the case, we will help you access the most appropriate specialist service.

Our aim is to help you understand your situation, identify your options and take the next steps towards improving your financial circumstances.

 

What happens when you contact us?

Step 1: Initial Assessment

When you first contact us, we will carry out a debt assessment.

This involves asking questions about:
  • Your debts and creditors
  • Your income and household finances
  • Your essential living costs
  • Any court action, bailiff action or other urgent issues
  • Any circumstances affecting your ability to manage your finances, such as illness, disability or caring responsibilities

Step 2: We Identify Any Urgent Issues

We will check whether there are any urgent matters that need immediate attention, such as:
  • Risk of eviction or homelessness
  • Bailiff or enforcement action
  • Court proceedings
  • Utility disconnection
  • Serious financial hardship
If necessary, we will provide immediate advice and support to help stabilise the situation.

 

Step 3: We Explain Your Options

Once we understand your circumstances, we will explain the options available to you and discuss the most appropriate next steps.
Step 4: General Advice or Specialist Referral

Depending on your situation:
  • We may be able to help you directly through our general debt advice service; or
  • We may recommend that you access a specialist debt advice service if your situation requires more specialist support.
If a referral is needed, we will explain why and help you access the most appropriate service.

 

Why do we carry out a debt assessment?

Some clients ask why we need to gather detailed information if they may later be referred to a specialist debt adviser.

The assessment is important because it helps us:
  • Understand your financial situation fully
  • Identify urgent risks and priority debts
  • Check whether there are ways to improve your income
  • Explain the options available to you
  • Decide whether we can help directly or whether specialist support is needed
  • Make sure you are referred to the right service first time
Even where a referral is needed, the assessment helps ensure that you receive the right support as quickly as possible.
How we can help

Our advisers can:
  • Review your debt situation
  • Help you identify priority and non-priority debts
  • Help you prepare a budget and financial statement
  • Explain your rights and responsibilities
  • Help you understand the options available to deal with debt
  • Support you to negotiate affordable repayments with creditors
  • Help you request token payments where appropriate
  • Help you request temporary payment arrangements
  • Help you ask creditors to freeze interest and charges where appropriate
  • Support communication with creditors
  • Help maximise your income by identifying benefits and other support you may be entitled to
  • Provide information about formal debt solutions and explain how they work
  • Refer you to specialist debt advice where appropriate
What we cannot do

We are not a specialist debt management service. This means we do not usually:
  • Manage Debt Relief Order (DRO) applications
  • Manage Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs)
  • Manage bankruptcy applications on behalf of clients
  • Provide ongoing debt management services
  • Represent clients in court
  • Conduct complex legal disputes about debts
  • Manage complex tax debt cases
  • Provide long-term debt casework
Where specialist support is required, we will help you access the appropriate organisation.

 

Specialist Debt Advice Services

The following organisations provide specialist debt advice and support:
StepChange Debt Charity
Free debt advice and debt solutions.
Telephone: 0800 138 1111
Website: www.stepchange.org
National Debtline
Free independent debt advice by telephone and online.
Telephone: 0808 808 4000
Website: www.nationaldebtline.org
Citizens Advice Debt Helpline
Telephone: 0800 240 4420
Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Crosslight Advice
Free FCA-authorised debt advice for eligible London residents.
Email: info@crosslightadvice.org
Website: www.crosslightadvice.org
South West London Law Centres
Specialist debt and money advice.
Telephone: 020 8667 9252
Website: www.swllc.org
Debt Free London
Free specialist debt advice for London residents.
Telephone: 0800 808 5700
Website: www.debtfree.london

 

Need Help?

If you are struggling with debt, please contact us as soon as possible. The earlier you seek advice, the more options may be available to you.
If you are facing eviction, bailiff action, court proceedings, utility disconnection or another urgent financial crisis, please let us know when you contact us so we can assess the urgency of your situation.

General money Advice - Budgeting, Benefits, Grants

General Money Advice / Budgeting

Create a Budget to understand your finances, information on saving on energy, smarter shopping, Switching suppliers and finding the best deals.

Benefits Calculator

Use our FREE online benefit calculator to see if you are getting everything you are entitled to.
You can note down your reference number so you can access this again later – Also you can share it with your adviser if you need to discuss the outcome with us. 

Grants

We are able to assess your eligibility towards Grants or other financial assistance.
Grants are available through local and national providers, for a wide variety of reasons.
We do need to ask a lot of information and see financial evidence to assess your eligibility or to make applications on your behalf.

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