Debt Charities in the UK

If your company is in trouble and you are looking for a debt charity to sort it out, here is the honest answer: most of them cannot. Debt charities in the UK are built for personal debt. They do not hold insolvency licences. For a limited company with creditor pressure or an HMRC debt spiral, you need a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, not a helpline.

That said, debt charities matter to directors more than most guides admit. If you have signed personal guarantees, if the company’s collapse threatens your own finances, or if you are a sole trader rather than a limited company director, these services are exactly what you need. Free, regulated, and genuinely useful for the right situation.

We have mapped the main UK debt charities below, explained what each one actually covers, and drawn a clear line between personal debt support and company insolvency routes. Conflating the two is the most common mistake directors make when they first seek help.

The Debt Charity Landscape: What These Services Actually Cover

UK debt charities provide free advice on personal debt: consumer borrowing, household arrears, personal loans, and in some cases sole-trader liabilities. They are overseen by charity regulators and, where relevant, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for regulated debt counselling.

Our experience is that directors often reach out to these services first, because they are well-known and free. Sometimes that is exactly right. Sometimes it is the wrong call for their situation.

What they do not do: administer company voluntary arrangements, appoint administrators, deal with corporate insolvency, or negotiate with HMRC on a company’s behalf in any formal capacity. Those routes require a licensed Insolvency Practitioner under the Insolvency Act 1986.

The line matters for you as a director. If you are sitting on a director’s loan account that the liquidator will call in, or you have personally guaranteed a business overdraft that the bank is now pursuing, that liability lives in your personal estate. A debt charity can help with that. The company’s debts to its creditors are a different legal matter entirely.

Business Debtline: The Best Debt Charity for Most Directors

Business Debtline (0800 197 6026) is run by the Money Advice Trust. It is the only major UK charity designed specifically for people with business debts, and our starting recommendation for any director or sole trader with business-related personal exposure. In our view, if you call only one charity, make it this one.

The realistic scope: Business Debtline is genuinely strong for sole traders and the self-employed. If you trade as yourself, your business debt is your personal debt, and advisors can help you work through creditor negotiations, priority debts, and budgeting for repayment.

For limited company directors, their help is most valuable where the company’s collapse has created personal exposure. They will not restructure your company, but they can help you understand what the personal fallout looks like before you speak to an IP.

The catch: Business Debtline advisors are trained in debt advice, not insolvency law. If your situation has moved beyond budget management into formal insolvency territory, they will tell you so and refer you on. Do not go expecting them to hold a liquidator’s letter off while they negotiate. That is not what they do.

StepChange Debt Charity: Biggest UK Charity, but Built for Consumers

StepChange (0800 138 1111) is the largest debt charity in the UK. Its product range covers Debt Management Plans (DMPs), Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), Debt Relief Orders (DROs), and bankruptcy advice. Where we refer directors on for personal debt support after a company failure, StepChange is often the right landing point for the personal repayment conversation.

The limitation is structural. StepChange was built for consumer debt. Advisors are trained in household finances, not company accounts. If you arrive with a tangle of personal guarantees, a director’s loan balance the liquidator is pursuing, and a personal tax bill from a dissolved company, they will help you with the personal layer. The company layer is outside their scope.

Where StepChange is genuinely strong: post-insolvency personal support. Once your company has gone through formal insolvency and your personal liabilities have crystallised, StepChange can help you manage the personal repayment side. That is not nothing. Personal exposure after a company failure is real, and having free professional support through it matters.

National Debtline: Personal Debt Advice with Useful Self-Help Resources

National Debtline (0808 808 4000) is also run by the Money Advice Trust, the same organisation behind Business Debtline. It focuses on personal and consumer debt across England, Wales, and Scotland. The helpline runs Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, and Saturday 9:30am to 1pm.

The overlap with Business Debtline creates some confusion. In practice: if you have a personal debt problem unrelated to trading, National Debtline handles it. If the debt is business-related (sole trader, self-employed, or personal guarantee on a business loan), Business Debtline is the better fit. Both services are free.

National Debtline’s self-help guides are worth reading before you call anyone. If you have a county court judgment to manage, or council tax arrears that have escalated to bailiff stage, their online factsheets are specific enough to be genuinely useful.

We often point directors to their factsheet on bailiff rights before an enforcement visit. Knowing what you can and cannot refuse before the knock at the door changes how you handle it.

Citizens Advice: Generalist Debt Charity, Variable Quality

Citizens Advice provides free debt advice through its network of local bureaux across England and Wales. It is the most accessible option for most people: walk in, get seen, get advice on the same day in many locations.

The honest assessment: quality varies by branch. Citizens Advice advisors are often trained volunteers rather than specialists. For straightforward problems, like a payday loan spiral or council tax arrears, most bureaux handle it competently.

For complex situations involving personal guarantees, director liability, or post-liquidation bankruptcy risk, the quality depends heavily on which bureau you attend and who you see that day.

If your situation is complex, use Citizens Advice as triage. Get a general read on your options. Then seek specialist advice for the decisions that matter: which formal debt solution fits, whether your personal assets are at risk, whether you should consider voluntary liquidation for the company first. Citizens Advice will not give you the expert legal framing those decisions need.

Christians Against Poverty: Face-to-Face Support for the Emotional Load

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) operates through local church centres and offers face-to-face debt support at no charge. They are particularly strong on the emotional and practical load of acute financial crisis: a debt coach visits your home, sits with you, and works through the numbers in person.

For directors who are exhausted, isolated, or struggling to open letters, CAP’s face-to-face model is genuinely different from a phone helpline. The coach does not just advise; they help you take action in a supported way. That matters when the pile of red letters on the kitchen table has become something you cannot face alone.

The limitation is scope: CAP focuses on personal debt, not business debt. They work best alongside a formal debt solution rather than as a replacement for one. If you need support through a difficult process while an IVA is being set up, CAP can provide it.

Money Helper and Turn2us: Government and Benefit-Focused Debt Routes

Money Helper (0800 138 7777) is the government-backed service that replaced the Money Advice Service. It provides free debt guidance and can direct you to other services. It is not a specialist insolvency service, but it is a useful first point of contact if you are not sure where to start.

Turn2us focuses on a different problem: welfare benefits and hardship grants. If your company has failed and you need to understand your benefit entitlement while you rebuild, Turn2us can run a benefits check and identify grant funding you may be eligible for. Financial collapse usually involves a benefits question alongside the debt question, and Turn2us handles that piece well.

For directors who have just come through a company failure, a Money Helper call and a Turn2us benefits check are sensible first steps before committing to any formal personal debt solution. Know your full financial picture before you sign up to a DMP or IVA.

In our view, too many directors skip this step and enter debt solutions they did not need. A benefits check takes twenty minutes and can change the picture entirely.

When Debt Charities Are Not Enough: Your Company Insolvency Options

If your limited company cannot pay its debts, a debt charity will not fix it. That is not a criticism; it is simply outside their legal scope. What you need is a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, who can advise on company voluntary arrangements, creditors’ voluntary liquidation, administration, or responding to a winding-up petition.

Timing matters here. Directors who contact an IP early, before the creditor pressure becomes a petition, have more options. Those who wait until the Official Receiver is involved have fewer.

We see this pattern in the cases our team reviews: directors who act within a few weeks of recognising insolvency close the process more cleanly and with lower personal exposure than those who wait months hoping things will turn around.

The right starting point is a confidential consultation with a licensed IP. Our team at Company Debt works with directors across the full range of company insolvency options, including situations where personal debt from the company’s collapse also needs addressing. If you are not sure whether the company or personal route applies first, that is exactly the question we can help you answer.

Your Next Step

If you are a sole trader or self-employed with business debt: call Business Debtline on 0800 197 6026. They are the right fit, free, and understand the self-employed position better than any other charity.

If your limited company is under creditor pressure: the debt charity route is for your personal exposure, not the company’s debts. Get a confidential call with a licensed Insolvency Practitioner first. Once the company position is resolved, the personal fallout is where StepChange or Business Debtline can help.

If you are not sure which applies: that uncertainty is worth resolving quickly. The difference between personal debt and company debt is the difference between a debt management plan and a corporate insolvency process. Getting the wrong advice from the wrong kind of organisation can cost you time you may not have. We see directors lose options every month by starting with the wrong route.

FAQs About Debt Charities in the UK