Frequently Asked Questions
Tell us about your advice centre
Excelling Community is part of the Community Money Advice network, a national network of 150 local advice centres where trained advisers offer free, professional, face to face advice and support to help people find relief from debt and financial hardship. We help people find freedom from debt by providing free, unconditional, fully confidential advice and practical support. Advice is specific to each person’s needs and advisers give as much time and support as required until debts have been repaid and financial stability achieved. We also help people develop good money management skills.
Why do people get into debt?
People can find themselves in debt due to a wide range of reasons. Often when personal circumstances change, debt that was once manageable can get out of control. Today consumer debt is at alarming levels and it only takes for income to drop or living costs to rise to push many family budgets into crisis.
How big is the problem?
Recent statistics from the Bank of England show that unsecured consumer debt has increased by 19% in the past 5 years and currently stands at £201.5bn. Household debt has been growing much faster than household income and the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts unsecured household debt will reach 47% of income by 2021. Total consumer debt including mortgages is now over £1.5 trillion. Community Money Advice are keen to work with Churches and community organisations to open more local debt advice centres so that everyone struggling with debt has access to free, professional, face to face advice and support so that they can find freedom from debt and hope for the future.
Isn’t it just a case of people misusing their money or bad budgeting?
Even people who are great at managing their money can find themselves in a crisis should their circumstances suddenly change. Community Money Advice centres every day see people from all walks of life struggling with debt and money problems. Advice centres help people manage their money better, particularly those struggling with mental health problems who can find money management a challenge. We would encourage anyone struggling with debt to seek free, professional help.
What should people in debt do?
We urge anyone experiencing debt and money problems to seek free professional help – it is possible to find freedom from the stranglehold of debt. A list of Community Money Advice centres can be found on the website: www.communitymoneyadvice.com
Is all debt bad?
Some people can take on debt as a sensible investment that does not have a negative impact on their overall financial position. For others however debt can be unaffordable with no possibility of paying for the debt along with essential household bills. We encourage people to carefully consider the reason for taking debt, and have a realistic plan for paying it back as quickly as possible.
What should churches do?
Act.
Open an advice centre. Recent statistics show that only 17% of the people who need debt advice, receive it. We believe people in every community need access to free, professional, face-to-face advice. We encourage churches and community organisations to consider whether they could launch a face-to-face Community Money Advice centre and be a lifeline to people facing financial hardship in their community. Community Money Advice can help by providing specialist training, a freephone Community Money Adviceline, a local support person, access to national conferences, information on legislative changes, full debt management casework software, IT support and resource materials. Please visit www.communitymoneyadvice.com for further information.
Pray.
We believe prayer works. Please pray for the dedicated volunteers and staff working in advice centres and please pray for those struggling with debt that they would find hope and freedom.
Give.
Advice centres rely on volunteers. If you can spare some time each week a local Community Money Advice centre would be delighted to talk with you about how you can help them in their work. Local centres and Community Money Advice also rely on generous financial donations to continue to provide face-to-face debt advice. Please consider making a donation to help them continue to be a lifeline for people experiencing a debt crisis.
What should the public do?
1.
We are keen for people to understand consumer debt is at alarming levels with recent statistics from the Bank of England showing that unsecured consumer debt has increased by 19% in the past 5 years. We encourage people to carefully consider the reason for taking debt, and have a realistic plan for paying it back as quickly as possible.
2.
For people experiencing problems because of debt, we urge them to seek free professional help – it is possible to find freedom from the stranglehold of debt. A list of Community Money Advice centres can be found on the website: www.communitymoneyadvice.com
3.
We belong to churches or community organisations to consider whether they could launch a face-to-face Community Money Advice centre and be a lifeline to people facing financial hardship in their community.
What should politicians do?
We want politicians of all political parties to understand that consumer debt in the UK is at alarming levels. Recent statistics from the Bank of England show that unsecured consumer debt has increased by 19% in the past 5 years and currently stands at £201.5bn. Household debt has been growing much faster than household income and the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts unsecured household debt will reach 47% of income by 2021. Total consumer debt including mortgages is now over £1.5 trillion. We believe that this level of debt is not sustainable for many households.
We would like politicians to work with Community Money Advice to understand the real stories of people struggling to repay unaffordable debt and the consequences on families, relationships and communities.