Debt Advice Information Centre

We are dedicated to solving debt problems

Money Advice Direct is a well established provider of debt help, IVA advice and IVA help & support in the UK. Please note that all advice provided is confidential and and without obligation. You can call us as many times as you like on 0800 074 6918.

We want to help you to get the most out of an IVA. Users of Money Advice Direct IVA help service search the site by entering keywords in the box at the top right of the site or by using the IVA guide.

For detailed information on IVA Help please use the IVA information centre.

If you are in debt you can get lots of confidentiial and non-judgemental help and advice. If you are already in debt don't make matters worse by borrowing more. Get advice from Money Advice Direct on 0800 074 6918.

Repaying your debts

Once you've recognised that you're in debt, you can begin to plan how you'll repay it. The easiest way is to organise your debts and then prioritise which are the most important.

Setting out your debts

The first stage to getting out of debt is to work out exactly how much you owe and who you owe it to. You can do this by taking a thorough look at your monthly bank statements and making a list of all your outgoings over the course of a typical month.

Prioritising your debts

The debts that you need to tackle first are the ones that have the most serious consequences if you miss a payment. If you don't address these debts as a priority, you could lose your belongings or be sent to prison by the courts. These types of debt include:

• rent payments - if you owe money to your landlord, you can be evicted from your home
• car payments - if you're over 18 and you bought a car using a loan or hire purchase agreement, the vehicle can be taken away if you do not meet your repayment schedule

Other debts are classed as non-priority. This means that although you cannot have things taken away from you, they can still be expensive due to interest payments and can give you a bad credit rating, which leads to problems applying for loans in the future. These include:

• credit cards
• bank charges and overdrafts
• money you owe to friends and family