Public and third sector information services

GOV.UK provides extensive information on money and tax, covering Capital gains tax, court claims, debt and bankruptcy, dealing with HMRC, income tax, inheritance tax, national insurance, self assessment and VAT.
Citizens Advice provides extensive and detailed information on debt and money, providing the information you need to make the right choices, including help to deal with your debt problems, how to avoid losing your home and how to get your finances back into shape.
Advicenow offers information top picks for money and tax, sourced from the best providers, with information about debt, self assessment, paying stamp duty when you buy a house, paying council tax, VAT, and what to do if you have problems with savings and investments, pensions, and insurance.

Find an adviser

Contact Citizens Advice to speak to someone in person by phone or online chat. You can get free advice for simple problems and they can recommend advisers if your situation is more complex. They also provide information on finding free or affordable legal help.

Find your local Law Centre on the Law Centres Network. All Law Centres offer face-to-face legal advice to local residents, and some run a telephone advice line. All Law Centres specialise in social welfare law.

Find a clinic on the LawWorks Clinics Network which provides free initial advice to individuals on various areas of social welfare law.

Use the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor page to find solicitors in England and Wales.

Use the Law Society of Scotland’s Find a Solicitor page.

Use the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s Solicitor Directory.

Other useful resources

Bankcruptcy Clinic is a company providing a service to declare yourself bankrupt, having taken details of your own situation. There is also information on bankruptcy in general on the site and links to Government run services and other advice resources.

Pay Plan offers advice, guidance and support for anyone struggling with debt. They try to help people find a way out of debt and enable them to take back control of their money. Many organisations including the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, the Police Federation and unions such as Unison refer their clients to this group.There is a related site called Debt Questions which is a free information site.

Debt Forum is a support board allowing people with debt problems to share their experiences with each other. Members help and offer mutual support and advice to others facing bankruptcy and similar debt related issues.

IVA.net has been helping people in debt for over 75 years. They aim to help you find the best debt solution for your situation. They are one of the few companies who do not charge extra for setting an IVA up. There is lots of information about debt and about Individual Voluntary Arrangements on the site.

IVA Online allow people to apply for an individual voluntary arrangement easily directly with an Insolvency Practioner. Beneficial for people with secured debts such as mortgages and secured loans.

Simple Financial Solutions provide information and assistance for many financial topics, including how to handle debts.

Scotland

180 Advisory Solutions is a Glasgow-based firm with many years of experience in both corporate recovery and restructuring and in managing one of the largest and most successful personal insolvency businesses in Scotland. They work with both individuals and businesses needing help and advice and initial conversations are free and without obligation, to explore whether there is anything they can do to help. Fees only charged once a client has agreed to go ahead.

Scotland Debt Solutions provide confidential advice to individuals in Scotland with personal debts over £5,000, such as credit card debts, council tax arrears and personal tax debts. The Scotland Debt Solutions team offer a free initial consultation to discuss dealing with personal debts and debt solutions, such as Sequestration (bankruptcy), Trust Deeds and Debt Arrangement Schemes (DAS).

Scottish Trust Deed provide help and advice on debt solutions for Scottish residents only. They provide a free advice service where consumers can talk through their situation with a qualified advisor/Insolvency Practioner at no cost. People struggling with loans and credit cards will find this service beneficial.

Trust-Deed.co.uk provides a forum where members of the public in Scotland can directly, without charge, obtain information and advice from a panel of Scottish insolvency professionals. All members of the advice team are professionally qualified and hold the Certificate in Debt Resolution (CertDR).

Trust Deed Scotland are Scotland’s largest Trust Deed Introducers. A Trust Deed actually uses government legislation to enable people living in Scotland who are financially struggling with debts generally over £10,000 to manage their debts within a realistic timeframe. The duration of the repayment period is typically 36 months and you will pay an agreed monthly contribution based on your affordability and then when this arrangement comes to an end, all of your remaining debts are legally written off. There is lots of information in this topic on the site.