We have specialist Debt Counsellors and Money Advisers to help and advise clients who have problems with debt, including: bills, credit cards, loans, rent/mortgage arrears, consumer agreements, debt relief orders and bankruptcy applications.

Unfortunately it is virtually impossible to live in the UK without access to credit i.e. taking on debts. Whether you are becoming a student to invest in your future or taking out a mortgage to invest in a home or just making end meet, most people are juggling their limited income to pay back what they owe.

However, with the increasing unemployment rates and drops in income, many find that previously manageable credit cards, loans or other debts are increasingly unaffordable.

Difficulties with money can cause stress and health problems.

We provide 1-to-1 debt advice from casework up to making application for bankruptcy at the High Court. We also provide training courses for groups such as older people and students on budgeting and financial literacy.

• Helping to maximize your income, including looking at tax, benefits and charity applications
• looking at your expenditure, to help work out how much your really need to budget for
• prioritising some debts, such as your rent and council tax
• using any surplus income to come to an arrangements with your non priority debts such a credit cards and loans – these organisations often wrongly “harass” people to pay back more than they afford.
• advice on the pros and cons of Debt Relief Orders or bankruptcy. Many people are scared of DROs and bankruptcies; remember that, ordinarily, it is a process to help you meet your liabilities and start afresh, not to punish you.

The first and best thing you can do is start by producing a budget looking at your income and expenditure. You could use this excel spreadsheet - it helps you avoid the most common mistake when converting weeks to month and vice versa!

You can use this tool to help you create a financial statement.

We are also a part of Cash flow – once we have helped you produce an income/expenditure sheet, you can keep it for downloading as and when you need to send it to your creditors.

We have a free Do-it-yourself Debt Pack and a Bankruptcy Pack, which take you the two processes step by step.

We are accredited to issue Debt Relief Orders for people whose case meets the criteria.