It’s good to see charities like StepChange encouraging people to take action and speak to someone when they have problem debts that they can’t keep on top of.
It’s very easy to bury your head in the sand when you have money problems and if you do this the only thing that you can be sure of is that your problems will get worse.
Debt problems never go away if you don’t deal with them, they only end up costing you more in interest and late payment fees, and in really dire situations they can cost you your house and even your marriage because of the stress that owing money can put you under.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. The truth is that most creditors want to help you with your debt. They don’t want the extra costs and hassle that they have to get involved with if they need to refer your debt to a Solicitor or to a debt recovery agency. They would rather get their money back from you, and in a way that suits both you and them.
But they can only help you if you tell them that you have a problem. And the time to tell them that you might have a problem is before you miss your first payment, not when you are six months in arrears. Then it becomes more difficult to resolve in some cases.
The most important thing you can do if you are in debt is pick up the phone and tell whoever you are speaking to that you have a problem and you want help. It’s not easy but once you have done it you will genuinely find that a weight has been lifted from your shoulders.
If you have multiple debts with a variety of different lenders and you can’t face calling them all then use one of the debt charities that are out there and can help, like StepChange, and the National Debtline.
They all exist to help you, and they won’t charge you for the help they give you.
