East Suffolk Council
Help with housing arrears
Don't leave it too late, get help now
Shelter provides a free, national telephone advice line staffed by trained housing advisers - call 0808 800 4444.
8am - 8pm Monday to Friday
8am - 5pm Saturday to Sunday
The Money Advice Service
The Money Advice Service is a free, independent, service set up by the Government. Advice and information is available online, over the phone and face to face. The service provides tailored money advice to help you make choices throughout your life, whatever your circumstances - call 0300 500 5000.
Keeping your home
Taking early action is particularly important if you are facing problems paying your mortgage or you have secured loans against your home that you are struggling to repay - you need to talk to your lender as soon as possible:
- Take action early
- Talk to your lender
- Don’t ignore letters
- Always attend court repossession hearings in person
Where to go for advice if you are a homeowner
For information and advice about mortgage problems follow the links below:
Financial help with mortgage or rent payments
- If you are a homeowner you may be entitled to support for mortgage interest (SMI)
- If you rent a property you may be entitled to Housing Benefit.
Sale and rent back schemes
From 3 February 2012, the market for private sale and rent back schemes was closed following a review by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA found that most sale and rent back schemes, that bought your home and rented the property back to you, were either "unaffordable or unsuitable and never should have been sold".
Debt advice
If you are struggling to pay off debts, don’t bury your head in the sand. Help and advice is available from:
- Citizens Advice Bureau
- Step Change Debt Charity - 0800 138 1111
- Debt Advice Foundation - 0800 043 4050
- The Money Advice Service - 0300 500 5000
- National Debt Line - 0808 808 4000
- Debt Support Trust - 0800 085 0226
Don’t borrow money from loan sharks - for more information follow the link below. You can report a loan shark in confidence to the Illegal Money Lending Team on 0300 555 2222.
Increasing your income
If your income has reduced or you have become unemployed, make sure you claim all the benefits to which you are entitled.
If you're responsible for at least one child or young person who normally lives with you, you may qualify for Child Tax Credit. If you work, but earn low wages, you may qualify for Working Tax Credit. For more information follow the links below or ring the tax credits helpline on 0345 300 3900 (textphone 0345 300 3909).
Try the online benefits adviser and calculator to find out what benefits and Tax Credits you may be entitled to:
Benefit helplines
- For people with disabilities - 0800 88 2200 (textphone 0800 24 3355)
- For advice about Pension Credits - 0800 99 1234 (textphone 0800 169 0133)
- Jobcentre Plus new and repeat benefit claims - 0800 055 6688 (textphone 0800 023 4888)
- Tax Credits - 0345 300 3900 (textphone 0345 300 3909)
Relationship problems
Money worries can sometimes cause problems within the family or relationship breakdowns. Advice and information is available from:
- Relate: relationship counselling - 0300 100 1234
- National Domestic Violence Helpline - 0808 2000 247
Other useful sources of advice and help
- Ipswich County Court Advice and Representation Service (iccars)
- Shelter - helpline 0808 800 4444
Looking after your health
Job insecurity, redundancy, debt and money problems can all cause feelings of distress. When times are tough, it's quite natural to feel worried or down. It's when these feelings go on for weeks that they can start to affect your health and wellbeing.
The NHS Choices website has information about where to get help if worries about money or losing your job are affecting your health, advice on ways to combat stress and how you can spend less on your food shopping and still eat healthily: