Debt advice

Difficulty with paying off debt and mounting bills can seem like a never ending problem.  The more payments you miss, the more you get into debt, and when some lenders put you under pressure and it can be difficult to know what to do. 

There are any number of reasons why people get into difficulty with money but the effect of not being able to pay is often the same. At Merlin we aim to help you find the right solution for your particular situation, either here or at one of the free-to-use agencies locally or nationally.

There are a couple of things that you can do to prepare yourself to deal with problem debt.  First, know what you owe, use our debt schedule to work this out.  Second, know what money comes in and what needs to go out by using our income and expenditure schedule, which is available to download from the Related Links on the right of this page. 

If you are happy to work things through for yourself you can use the our Guide to Dealing with Debt which is free to download from the links on the right hand side of this page..  If you would like a little additional help you can contact any of the free-to-use agencies directly. If you think you might be entitled to benefits you can work this out using South Gloucestershire Council's benefits calculator.

Beware of advertised debt management companies who charge to administer a debt management plan, you can get the same professional service free of charge from CCCS,  National Debtline or Payplan.  If you are already paying for a debt management plan you may still be able to change, contact one of the free service providers.

Five things to remember when dealing with debt:

• Keep in contact with the people you owe money
• Don’t ignore letters or phone calls
• Don’t be pressured into making offers of payment that you can’t afford
• Don’t borrow more money without thinking about it very carefully – you may be adding to your debts
• Don’t wait for court action, the costs will be added to the amount that you owe
 

If you are having financial difficulties or think you may have trouble paying your rent, you can email our debt advice service which may be able to help.