We are proud to be supporting Debt Awareness Week 2024, organised by specialist debt charity StepChange.
With research showing that more than 50% of their clients waited for a year or more before seeking advice, we’ve partnered with StepChange to share their message, break down barriers to accessing help, and encourage people to seek support earlier.
Why don’t people seek advice?
This year, the focus of Debt Awareness Week is the common obstacles people face when attempting to seek help with debt. These include:
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Not knowing how debt advice can help.
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Feeling ashamed of people knowing.
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Being concerned their credit rating will suffer.
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Mental health issues.
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Not having enough time to dedicate to tackling their debt problems.
Any of these sound like you, or someone you care about? Find out more about breaking down each barrier on the StepChange website.
What to do if you're struggling with money worries, debt or your mortgage
If you’re a Newbury Building Society mortgage customer and you’re concerned about your mortgage payments, you can contact our Mortgage Payment Support team.
Reaching out to us for help and guidance does not affect your credit score, so if you’re worried, please don’t put off contacting us.
Our friendly and experienced team are here to listen to your concerns and understand your financial circumstances, completely free of judgement. They’ll help you to identify any support available and be able to point you in the direction of resources, organisations, or services that can help to improve your situation.
You can speak to them by calling 01635 555588, emailing paymentsupport@newbury.co.uk, or, if you’re not quite ready to speak to someone directly, via our live web chat service.
We are also part of the government’s Mortgage Charter scheme, which supports borrowers in financial difficulty. Find out more here.
You can also:
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Share your concerns with someone you trust, like a friend or family member. Remember - everyone will need financial help or advice at some point in their lives. Reaching out is nothing to be ashamed of, in fact, it's very courageous.
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Audit your finances - can you increase the amount of money you have coming in, or cut down on spending? Putting together a comprehensive budget is the best way to understand your financial position and whether you can make any improvements.
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Seek help - whether from a charity like StepChange, or your lender if you’re worried about mortgage payments.
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If you're lucky enough to be free of money worries, you can help break down barriers by looking out for the signs of debt in your friends and family.
Useful online resources
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StepChange's '60 Second Debt Test' can help you to identify if you need their debt advice
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MoneyHelper provides help with anything from comparing car running costs to court fines, cost of living advice to coping with job loss.
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Turn2us is another brilliant charity, which has a useful benefits calculator to check what you might be entitled to, as well as help if you're worried about energy bills.
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Money and mental health advice from Mind.
