National Debt Helpline

National Debtline is part of the Money Advice Trust. Established in 1987 as a registered charity, the Money Advice Trust offers a FREE debt advice service for residents of England, Wales and Scotland. The service is both confidential and independent. More importantly, the advice given is tailored to meet your own personal financial circumstances.

Should you decide that you do not wish to discuss your personal situation with a National Debtline advisor, then their website probably provides one of the best free sources of information and template letters currently available on the internet.

Historically, you had to ring the helpline to access the free advice. As debt soared, this did cause a few problems with individuals, desperate for advice, unable to get through on the phone or alternatively, cut off after holding on for a considerable length of time.

This problem has been addressed in 2 ways. Firstly, staff numbers have been increased to deal with the additional volume of calls. Secondly, it is also possible to email or write to the helpline for advice.

More often than not though, when someone decides to tackle such a major issue, they will generally seek immediate advice.

National Debt Helpline offers free expert advice on a wide range of consumer debts including debts such as rent arrears and congestion charges. They provide assistance with Debt Management Plans (DMP), Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) as well as the recently introduced Debt Relief Orders (DRO).

The advisors are not there to judge you, but to help you resolve your financial situation.

Normally, the first thing you would do is to prepare an income and expenditure report. An advisor will take you through this or, alternatively, you can download a pack from the site and work through it yourself. This is a crucial first step as this will determine which debt management solution is most appropriate for you.

One other factor to consider is what assets you hold. If you have significant equity in the family home, for example, then you may wish to avoid options such as bankruptcy, which may entail a compulsory sale.

The best way to achieve the right solution for you is to be totally honest about your situation and what you hope to avoid, as well as achieve.

The most important thing is not to worry! If you've arrived at this site then you've no doubt acknowledged that you have a problem. The good news, is that you are not alone and there are plenty of people out there who are more than willing to help you resolve your problems. As as well as professionals, check out some of the consumer forums for moral support.

The bad news is that when you start to negotiate with your creditors, you will inevitably find that you are no longer able to use your credit cards, which is especially difficult if that's how you have been covering your essentail monthly outgoings. Furthermore, you may find defaults and arrears registered on your credit file which will make borrowing far more difficult if not virtually impossible. This is not something that you should worry unduly about, but it may become a burden if and when you wish to move property and obtain a new mortgage.