Money worries

We’re here to help

If you’re having problems with making repayments and feel you’re falling behind we’ll do our best to help you get back on track. Get in touch with us and our trained financial care specialists will discuss your options with you. 

If you’re looking for general support then take a look at our if finances are a struggle page for more information.

What to expect…

We understand talking about your finances isn’t easy. We know some customers have medical or personal situations that impact 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.

Take two minutes to listen to Kirsty’s story about how Santander supported her when she needed us the most.

I went to university, my friends would agree that we all were sort of having to use your overdraft. 

Whilst trying to keep up with rent and bills, my hours were cut for my job and a change in my income was quite detrimental. 

So moving out of London and back in with my parents was the obvious step and allowed me to focus on sorting out some of the debts. 

After that first conversation with Santander, it did feel like a massive weight off your shoulders. 

So having the live chat option was really helpful, made me feel way more comfortable. 

The person on the other end of the chat was warm, and that kind of human aspect really helped.

Once I did the budget planner, we agreed like an affordable repayment plan with me based on my affordability at the time, it was really easy. 

I sent it back the next day, and within an hour or so the payment plan was set up. 

It was a relief to know that I could get things sorted out and see that change so quickly, made me realise people genuinely want to help you. 

And my experience with Santander kind of gave me the confidence to go ahead and tackle some of the other companies as well. 

Financial situation now is a lot more comfortable.

I'm not missing payments, I was able to move out again and build a bit of a safety net. 

I got married a few months ago as well, got a dog now. 

There's so much more I feel like I can do now that my financial situation is back on track.
 

  • 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.

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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Ways to get in touch

Chat with us online

The quickest and easiest way to get in touch is by clicking on ‘Chat with us’ when you’re in our Mobile Banking app, or when you’re logged on to Online Banking.

Once you’ve selected to chat, type ‘financial support’ and answer a couple of questions to get started. Depending on your answers we’ll then connect you to one of our financial care specialists.

Log on now  Get the app

Call us

Take a look at the numbers below to call depending on what account you have with us

Mortgages

For more information about the Mortgage Charter and how we can help, please visit our dedicated mortgage support page.

Call us on 0800 085 1226 

View our opening hours

Current accounts

If you are struggling to pay your overdraft, please visit our ‘If finances are a struggle' webpage for further help and support.

Call us on 0800 587 1122 

View our opening hours

Credit cards 

There’s also some ways to help you pay off any credit card debt on the PayPlan website, so take a look

Call us on 0800 389 6655 

View our opening hours

Personal loans 

You may want to consider consolidating your debt, especially if you have multiple loans. Learn more

Call us on 0800 678 3322 

View our opening hours

Interest-only mortgages

More information for interest only mortgage customers can be found on our 'if you have an interest only mortgage' webpage

Call us on 0800 085 0980 

View our opening hours

Business Banking

Take a look at some tools and resources to help you with any rising cost challenges your business may be facing right now.  Or take a look at information about repaying your Bounce Back Loan

 

View our opening hours and number to call

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