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Financial difficulty

Help and advice for customers experiencing financial difficulties.

If you need advice to help you manage your Current Account

We will consider cases of financial difficulty sympathetically and positively. If you have any concerns about your own situation please let us know as soon as possible by contacting our Current Account helpline on 0845 600 6103*.

If we become aware of problems, we'll let you know in writing or we may try to contact you by phone.

This list gives a few examples of what may concern us, particularly if you do not explain what is happening:

  • If you go overdrawn without prior agreement
  • If you go over your agreed overdraft limit, especially more than once
  • If you do not keep to conditions set out in the Terms and Conditions of your Account
  • If we return several payments as unpaid due to insufficient funds in your Account
  • If your regular income is reduced, which may indicate a loss of earnings

We'll do all that we can to help you overcome any difficulties. We'll develop a plan with you for dealing with your financial difficulties and we'll then confirm in writing what we have agreed

What we will do

  • Contact you as soon as possible to discuss any issues and identify the best course of action
  • Deal with your situation sympathetically and positively to provide you with the support that you require
  • Talk to an agency that has given you debt advice (for example, Citizens Advice), if you want us to
  • Contact you to confirm your circumstances and obtain as much information as possible to establish your full financial circumstances
  • Discuss ways for you to repay any overdrawn balance by exploring a range of options available to you

How you can help

  • Contact us as soon as you are experiencing financial difficulties
  • Be open and honest about your problem and the causes
  • Co-operate with us to help us develop a plan for dealing with your financial difficulties
  • Provide us with information on your financial circumstances when requested

Independent Advice

If you are in difficulties we strongly recommend that you seek independent, free, debt advice. There are many organisations that can help. The details below may help you find the advice you need:

National Debtline
The helpline that provides free confidential and independent advice on how to deal with debt problems.

Tel – 0808 808 4000 (Monday-Friday 9am to 9pm; Saturday 9.30am to 1pm + 24-hour voicemail – to request an information pack or fact sheet.)

Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS)
CCCS is a registered charity offering free, confidential advice and support to anyone who is worried about debt.

Tel – 0800 138 1111 (Monday-Friday 8 am to 8 pm)

Advice UK
AdviceUK is the largest UK network of advice-providing organisations.

Tel – 0207 407 4070 (Monday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm)

Citizens Advice Scotland
This website is all about the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) service in Scotland. Advice and information is not available from this website, but can be found through links from this website.

Tel – 0131 550 1000

Money Advice Scotland
Raising standards in money advice in Scotland.

Tel – 0141 572 0237

Citizens Advice Bureaux
The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers.

Find your local CAB online

Payplan
Debt management and free confidential debt advice on resolving debt problems.

Tel – 0800 085 4298 (Monday-Friday 8 am to 9 pm and Saturday 9am to 3pm)