What to expect…
We understand talking about your finances isn’t easy. We know some customers have medical or personal situations impacting their ability to manage their finances too. That’s why our financial care specialists are here to help. They’ll work with you to set up a repayment plan tailored to your needs so you can get your finances back on track.
The more you can share about your situation, the more we can do to help.
When should I contact you?
- If you’re experiencing money problems, it’s best to let us know straightaway. Don’t wait until you’ve missed a payment or your account is overdrawn. But if you don’t speak to us, we’ll try to contact you by calls, letters, emails and texts. We might add interest and charges to your account too, so you’d need to pay back more money.
What can Santander do for me?
Once we’ve completed a budget planner with you, there will be many options which may include:
- Repayment plan – overpaying to repay your missed payments or unarranged overdraft balance.
- Reduced repayment plan – a short-term plan reducing the amount you need to pay each month to something you can afford. When this plan ends, we set up a repayment plan to pay back what wasn’t paid.
- Breathing space – 30 days to get free advice or explore debt solutions with a third party.
- Paydown – if there’s no agreement on the best solution, you can make affordable payments to your account.
If you go ahead with the repayment arrangement we discuss, it’ll show on your credit file.
Will my credit file be affected?
- Simply speaking to us won’t impact your credit file. Your credit file is a record of how you borrow, manage and repay money. This covers anything from a mortgage to a mobile phone contract. Lenders will use this information to decide if you’re able to borrow money and how much it’ll cost.
- If you miss a payment, we’ll report it to the credit referencing agencies. This will impact your credit file. But if you get in contact with us, we can help find an affordable solution for you, reducing the impact on your credit file.
- There are free apps to help you improve your credit score like Clearscore and Credit Karma. You can see more information and tips on improving your credit score on our what is a credit score page.
What do I need to do before I call?
- It would be great if you could have your income details and a breakdown of your average weekly or monthly spending. We may need to know about other debts and other financial commitments. We’ll need this to help make sure any solution is affordable to you.
Is there any help outside Santander?
- We know you might like to seek independent advice before contacting us. This might help if you’re struggling with payments to multiple lenders. We’ve got a page with some independent support available.
What if I don’t speak to you or bring my account up to date?
- For credit cards or overdrafts: we could remove your limit. We might stop you spending on your account. If your account stays overdue, we could issue you a default notice and close your account. If we do, we might pass your account to a debt collection agency to manage your account.
- For mortgages: we might pass your account to our solicitors to begin litigation. This can result in the property being repossessed.
