In the current economic climate, it’s no surprise that debt charities are feeling the strain too.
They are simply overwhelmed by the numbers of you needing help.
As a general rule, the debt charities can only answer half of all the calls they are getting.
National Debtline currently receives 1,600 calls a day but is only able to answer 800 because of staff shortages and a lack of funding.
Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust which runs National Debtline, said:
“About four million people will need debt advice this year, and currently we only have the capacity to help a small proportion of them.
“We recently took on an extra 50 advisors and when they are fully trained we will be able to answer around 1250 calls a day – but that is still not enough. We urgently need more funding if we are to meet demand.”
And in a bid to ease the increasing strain on debt charities, those of us calling in could be asked to undergo ‘self-help’!
What would this mean?
This would involve running a pilot scheme that would see the more financially aware of you tackling your own debt problems. Instead of spending hours with a debt adviser filling out a budget sheet you would be given guidance and sent away to do it yourself.
The completed sheet would be approved by a debt advice service such as Citizens Advice or the National Debtline and sent on to your creditors.
The Money Advice Trust believes the scheme could cut face-to-face advice time from a typical five hours to just one hour.
Joanna Elson, said:
‘We are seeing increasing numbers of better-off clients seeking debt advice, and we think many of them will be able to ‘self-help’, which would streamline the debt advice process.’
Speak to a debt adviser with Money Hospital’s independent debt enquiry service.
Millions need debt advice
About half of the 4 million of us expected to want debt advice this year will not be able to get an appointment with a debt charity.
As we mentioned, the National Debtline is helping 800 of you every day, but 1,600 are still trying to get through. A recent recruitment drive has given it the capacity to help more debtors, but still only 1,200 of the 1,600 in need of help, it estimated.
And Citizens Advice is no different. Eddie Collins, a business management consultant for Citizens Advice in the north of England, said that in March and April his bureau had seen a 70% increase in the number of you with mortgage problems since the same period 12 months ago.
‘Some of that spike is down to consumer awareness about government mortgage rescue schemes, which is a good thing,’ he said.
Joanna Elson said that the proposed Government mortgage support scheme would be reliant on support from mortgage lenders who would need to accept self-help budget assessments from debtors but said that the lender will need to have the reassurance that they can throw the debtor’s efforts back at debt advice agencies if the calculations look at all dodgy.
The squeeze on the free debt advice sector has seen many of you turning to fee-charging debt management companies which can be an expensive waste of time.
Have you tried to contact a debt charity?
How long has it taken you to get help?
Are you worried about your debt? Money Hospital has partnered with a UK-wide network of trustworthy debt specialists, so you can speak free of charge to an independent debt adviser for advice and solutions to help you resolve your debt problems.
There are also many other sources of free debt advice available to you, including:
Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) is a registered charity offering free, confidential advice and support. Call free on 0800 138 1111.
National Debtline: The helpline that provides free confidential and independent advice on how to deal with debt. Call free on 0808 808 4000.
Payplan: Debt management and free confidential debt advice.
Citizens Advice: a network of independent charities that helps you resolve your money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers.
Shelter: if you are struggling with the cost of your mortgage or with any other housing problem, call Shelter’s free housing advice line on 0808 800 4444.
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