Money Advice Service

Our team of qualified and experienced advisors will talk to you about the best solutions available to resolve your difficulties. These could be around budgeting or how to talk to your creditors, or debt solutions such as bankruptcy or insolvency.

We’re here to help you get to a better financial position.

Acknowledging a problem debt can sometimes feel overwhelming. Our advisers can guide you through our money advice process, talk through your options, and signpost you to further help.

Talking to a money adviser about your debt is the first step towards taking back control of your finances. So that we can help, we’ll need some information from you.

What to expect

We’ll talk to you to gain a full picture of your situation and we’ll look at the paperwork you provide us with.

We can help with any of the following:

we’ll work with you to prepare a Standard Financial Statement or Common Financial Statement outlining your income, outgoings and debts. A copy will be sent to you to check
we’ll advise you on how to make the most of your income, including budgeting, managing money, any benefit checks, and how to deal with priority debts and court actions
if appropriate we may consider you for financial assistance – final decisions are made by our Grants Team
based on your individual circumstances, we’ll talk to you about your options to deal with non-priority debts. Please note, that we cannot pay for these
we’ll advise you on the consequences of non-payment and the possible actions your creditors can take
we’ll respond promptly to any correspondence or communications we receive from you.

How to apply

Everything you need to know about how to apply for support from our Money Advice Service.

How to apply for help

Help us to help you

You’ll get more out of the support if you do the following.

Engage with this process: money advice takes time and effort. We will communicate with you through the online portal. You’ll be able to log in and check the status of your application at any time you choose. If you’d prefer us to contact you in a different way, please let us know.
Respond promptly to any requests for information or appointments. If you don’t respond your file may be closed as we continue to help others. If this happens, you can reactivate your application by emailing help@cfcs.org.uk if done within a reasonable timeframe. If it has been more than six months or your circumstances have changed, we may ask you to submit a new application.
Provide details of all household income and regular outgoings.
Give us full information about your debts and provide related paperwork, including any debt advice you’ve received from other organisations.
Provide regular updates, for example, outcomes of any negotiations or benefit awards, whilst your application is open.
Inform us of any changes in your circumstances as your application remains open.

Anna’s story

I cannot express to you what that money meant to me at that time. It meant I could put food on the table for my kids. It’s as simple as that. To have a charity like this, just for us civil servants… it’s incredible. To everyone who donates, know that you’ve helped me get my kids through the toughest time of their lives. And mine. Thank you.

Read Anna’s story