Julie called our offices as she had a significant over-payment of housing benefit as well as other debts. She owed over £10,000 which she had been too scared to deal with, burying her head in the sand, hoping it and her other debts would go away. 

The worry about these outstanding amounts and the stress of receiving letters about them however did not go away and although she wanted to get matters sorted, she found the situation overwhelming and completely lacked the confidence to know where to start and how she would survive.

Our Adviser helped her to start the discussion about negotiating a repayment plan that she could afford to maintain. Together they completed a realistic budget form and he explained the options to Julie who decided, now she had more information about the process, to try and speak directly to the Department concerned herself. 

Having spoken to the Department and realising that her worst fears did not come true, Julie then contacted a number of different agencies about her issues and agreed reasonable amounts to start repaying the outstanding balances.

A few weeks later, Julie rang our Adviser back to say ‘I’d got myself into a hole. You inspired me and gave me the confidence to tackle things myself.  Thank you.’

NOTE: Names have been changed and the image is not the actual person