One in 12 people in Yorkshire have a debt problem '“ here's how to cope

Three in five affected people say they worry about their debts often or all of the time.

Whilst copying with problem debt isn’t uncommon, that doesn’t mean it has to be the norm. Find out how you can get back in control of your money and what you can do to get debt-free.

Stop borrowing

It might sound obvious but if you’re already struggling with problem debt, stay away from any more borrowing for now. You can’t borrow yourself out of problem debt by taking on more and more credit on top of what you already owe – instead, focus on trying to make repayments on current debts.

Get an overview

Take a look at your credit history with one or more of the three credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax or CallCredit. You’ll be able to see how much you owe and who you owe each debt to. This can really help if you’ve started to lose control of what you owe and you can’t keep track of all of the payments you need to make.

You can get a month’s free trial with Experian and Equifax and after this time you’ll have to pay a fee to use the service. You can also check your Equifax credit history though ClearScore for free and your CallCredit report is always free from Noddle.

If you’ve been in debt for a while, you might even have forgotten some of the debts you have. An overview of your situation from a credit reference agency will help you see the full picture.

Speak to your lenders

You might be tempted to ignore any calls you get from your lenders or rip up any letters that come in the post. After all, confronting your debts can be scary, especially if you don’t want to face up to how much you owe.

But ignoring your debts won’t get rid of them and eventually you’ll have to admit you’re struggling. By talking to your lenders directly, you could get a payment holiday, have your interest and charges frozen or even agree on a reduced payment plan where you only pay what you can afford each month.

Seek help

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your debts and you don’t think you can deal with the situation alone, don’t panic – you can get help. You can find free, impartial advice on how to cope with debt from the Money Advice Service or you could speak to a trained debt advisor about your problems. They’ll be able to look at the different debt solutions available, and see if any are right for your situation.

Debt Advisory Centre: 0161 871 4881

Debt Advisory Centre: 0161 871 4881