Help with debt. No adverts here, ever.
A red-topped reminder, a court summons, a bailiff notice, a default letter. They are designed to frighten you. Here you get the opposite: what it means, what your rights are, and who will help you for free today.
Priority debts. Not paying can cost you your home, your supply or your liberty.
Non-priority debts. They matter, but the lender cannot take your home or switch off your heating.
These are charities, not companies. They are not means-tested, they will not sell you anything, and they can start things you cannot start alone, like Breathing Space.
StepChange
Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 8am-4pm
0800 138 1111www.stepchange.orgNational Debtline
Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 9:30am-1pm
0808 808 4000www.nationaldebtline.orgCitizens Advice
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm (England). Wales: 0800 702 2020
0800 144 8848www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/Is there food in the house this week?
If the letter has taken the food money, sort that first. Every food bank near you, and how to get a referral in one free call.
Breathing Space
A free debt adviser can apply for a 60-day Breathing Space. Most enforcement, interest and charges must stop while it runs. England and Wales. Scotland has a similar moratorium.
Bailiffs (enforcement agents)
You do not have to let them in. For most debts they cannot force entry, and they cannot visit between 9pm and 6am. Ask for ID and the notice before you say anything.
Council tax
Councils must consider a reasonable offer. Paying something regularly matters more than the size of it. Ask about Council Tax Reduction if you are on a low income; it can be backdated.
Energy
Suppliers must offer an affordable repayment plan. Forced prepayment meters are banned for many vulnerable households. Ask about the hardship fund.
Water
Water companies cannot disconnect a home for non-payment. Full stop. Ask about WaterSure and the social tariff.
Lenders
Credit cards, loans and catalogues are FCA regulated. They must treat you with forbearance: freezing interest, accepting token payments, and writing rather than phoning if you ask.
Rent and mortgage
Nobody can evict or repossess without a court order, and the court will look at a realistic repayment plan. Talk to your landlord or lender early.
Court claims and CCJs
Do not ignore the form. Replying, even to say you need time, stops a default judgment. A debt adviser will help you fill it in.
Fill in the square brackets, then copy into an email or print it. Scan your actual letter and the creditor, the reference and the amount are filled in for you.
Council tax repayment arrangement
Send this first. It asks for a payment plan you can actually keep to and pauses escalation while they consider it.
£1 per month holding offer
For credit cards, loans, catalogues and other non-priority debts. It keeps the account open on your terms while priority bills come first.
Breathing Space notice
Breathing Space is started by a free debt adviser, not by this letter. Send this to tell the creditor it is under way and ask for a hold in the meantime. England and Wales only.
For council tax, utility, credit and most other debts, no. Enforcement agents can only enter through a normal door, only if you let them, and only between 6am and 9pm. The exceptions are criminal fines, HMRC debts and goods they have already listed on a controlled goods agreement. Ask for ID and the notice before you say anything, and call a debt charity before the visit if you can.
A legal pause of 60 days on most enforcement, contact, interest and charges, under the Debt Respite Scheme in England and Wales. You cannot apply yourself: a free, FCA-authorised debt adviser (StepChange, National Debtline, Citizens Advice) applies for you, usually the same week you call. There is a separate mental health crisis version with no time limit while treatment lasts.
The three charities named on this page are free, and the conversation itself is confidential and not recorded anywhere. Breathing Space is not shown on your credit file either. The debts and any payments you have already missed are what affect your file, and dealing with them sooner helps.
Priority debts are the ones where not paying can cost you your home, your gas and electricity, or your liberty: council tax, rent, mortgage, energy, court fines, tax, child maintenance, TV licence. They come first in any budget. Credit cards, loans, catalogues and buy-now-pay-later are non-priority: they matter, but the lender cannot take your home for them.
Do not ignore it. You have 14 days to respond, or 28 if you send the acknowledgment first, and responding, even to say you need time or to admit part, stops a default judgment being entered against you. A debt adviser will help you fill in the form and the income and expenditure sheet.
Disconnection for debt is extremely rare and never without notice. Since 2024 suppliers cannot force-fit a prepayment meter for many vulnerable households, including homes with children under two or someone over 75, and must offer an affordable repayment plan first. Water cannot be disconnected for non-payment at all.