If the site or firm you signed up with has vanished, start with the first guide. If you are being offered a debt solution and are not sure about it, start with the last.
How to find out who holds your debt plan
Five free checks that identify the firm actually collecting your payments, and why you should not simply cancel the direct debit.
How to check a debt firm on the FCA register
How to search it, what the status and permissions actually mean, and how to spot a cloned firm.
DMP, IVA or bankruptcy: what the differences actually are
A plain comparison, including the free options that fee-charging firms tend not to mention.
How to spot a debt advice scam
The warning signs, how lead generators differ from advisers, and what to do if you have already paid.
How these are written
Every guide on this site is written from public sources — legislation, the Companies House register, the insolvency registers, the FCA register and the guidance published by the free debt charities — and links to them so you can check anything yourself. Nothing here is advice about your own circumstances, and none of it is a substitute for speaking to a qualified adviser. More about who writes it and why on the about page.
Free debt advice, whoever you are
Nobody should charge you for debt advice. These services are free, confidential and independent, and none of them will sell you a product.
- StepChange Debt Charity — 0800 138 1111 — stepchange.org
- National Debtline — 0808 808 4000 — nationaldebtline.org
- Citizens Advice — 0800 240 4420 — citizensadvice.org.uk
- MoneyHelper (government-backed) — 0800 011 3797 — moneyhelper.org.uk
- Money Talk Team (Scotland) — 0800 028 1456 — moneytalkteam.org.uk
- Advice NI (Northern Ireland) — 0800 915 4604 — adviceni.net
This page is information, not advice about your own circumstances. If money is tight, ring one of the numbers above before you act on anything you read online, here or anywhere else.