If you’ve missed more than one bill or debt repayment and you’re struggling, don’t worry – you’re not alone. We help hundreds of thousands of people with similar worries every year. There are lots of things you can do to resolve your difficulties, including getting free debt advice.
Add up how much you owe
The first step towards taking control is to put together a list of everyone you need to make payments to, including household bills, mortgage or rent payments outstanding loan or credit payments and debt repayments.
Check how much money you need to meet payments and whether you have fallen behind.
Understand which payments you need to tackle first
Some bills and payments are higher priority as the consequences of not paying can be more serious.
Find out more in our guide How to prioritise your debts.
If you’re facing a debt emergency
It’s important to get free debt advice as soon as you can if you’ve missed more than one priority payment, or are facing any emergency issues, including:
- being contacted by bailiffs
- receiving a court summons
- having your gas or electricity cut off
- having your home, car or goods repossessed.
Beware of loan sharks
Loan sharks often use online channels like social media to try and lend to people. This kind of lending is illegal and it could cost you a lot more than you think.
Find out more about loan sharks and how to spot them
Make a budget
To take control of your finances, it’s important to put together a budget. This will help you understand how much money you have to make payments.
Our free Budget Planner puts you in control of your household spending and analyses your results to help you take control of your money. It’s already helped hundreds of thousands of people.
If you’ll struggle with making a budget, or still have worries after you’ve crunched the numbers, you can always speak with a free debt adviser who can help you.
Try to increase your income
You might find your budget doesn’t balance and your income is less than your outgoings or you have just enough to live on but have no spare cash to pay off debts.
If that’s the case, there might be things you can do to increase your income or cut down on what you spend.
For example, you might be able to claim benefits you’re entitled to, claim a grant or save money on your household bills by switching providers.
Talk to the people you owe money to
Scams warning
If you take out a loan with an unauthorised firm, you won’t be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service if things go wrong.
You can report a scam to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)Opens in a new window and check the firm is authorised on the FCA's Financial Services RegisterOpens in a new window to make sure the contact details provided by the firm match the details on the register.
The support your creditor can give you will depend on things like:
- the type of bill or payment it is
- how much you owe
- how many payments you have missed
- your ability to make repayments
- whether you need extra support because you’re vulnerable.
The action your creditor can take will also depend on different things, such as whether it’s a priority or non-priority debt or whether it’s a credit agreement or a household bill.
To find out what you need to do for different bills and payments see our article section on Dealing with debt
Get free, confidential advice
If you’re worried about scams
If you're worried about being scammed call our Financial Crimes and Scams Unit on 0800 015 4402
If you’re having trouble with debt and finding it hard to manage things yourself, the last thing you might want to do is talk to a complete stranger about your problems.
But it can be the best thing you can do, especially if you’re thinking about using a formal debt repayment method, like a debt repayment plan or bankruptcy. It’s always best to talk things through with an experienced adviser before you make a decision.
This is because there are many ways to deal with debts and you might not be aware of all the options that are available to you. The way that is best for you will depend on your personal circumstances.
A free debt adviser can help you decide which option is right for you. Depending on your circumstances, this might just take one conversation.
A debt adviser will:
- treat everything you say in confidence
- never judge you or make you feel bad about your situation
- suggest ways of dealing with debts that you might not know about
- check you’ve applied for all the benefits and entitlements available to you.
If you’ve missed more than one debt repayment, Breathing Space could give you valuable time to find a solution. Find out more about Breathing Space and how it can help you.
Have you missed a payment?
Use our Debt advice locator tool to find free and confidential debt advice online, over the phone or near to where you live.
