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 as soon as possible and our trained staff can talk you through your options.
There are a couple of things that you might not have thought of which could be useful. The first is filling in a budget planner before you call us. This helps both you and us know how you spend. Take a look at the section below to find out more.
Also, there are organisations not associated with Santander that can give you advice and can help you speak to the people you owe money to. There are also organisations that can help you deal with the stresses of financial difficulties so that you don’t struggle in silence. Take a look at our independent support page for more information.
If you’re looking for information on ways to manage your money in general, for example, how you can cut your spending, please visit our help with managing my money page.
Coronavirus support
If you’ve taken a payment holiday on your mortgage and it’s coming to an end, we’ll contact you before your next payment is due. If you’re worried about restarting your payments, we’re here to help. You may previously have been asked to fill in an online form at the end of your current payment holiday – you don’t need to do this now. Simply follow the steps below, which depend on your individual circumstances.
If you’ve had less than 6 months payment holiday and you were up to date with your payments when you first took your payment holiday, please call us, as we may be able to offer you an extension to your payment holiday. Please think carefully before doing this as your missed payments will be added to your mortgage balance, interest will be charged and your monthly payment amount will increase.
To call us, our number is 0800 085 1226 for Santander mortgages or 0800 731 7553 for Alliance & Leicester mortgages. We can only offer you an extension if you get in touch with us by the date in the communication we sent to you and your extended payment holiday can’t cover any payments that are due after 31 July 2021.
If you were behind on your payments, we’ll need you to complete our online budget planner before you call us. It’s really important you do this so that we can discuss all the options we have available to support you. For details about how to complete our budget planner, called MyFinances, head to the ‘Budget planning’ section of this page. You'll need the unique reference number found on the communication we sent to you (if you’ve lost this, type in ‘uniquereference’ into the ‘Chat with us’ banner on the right hand side of this page).
If you’ve already taken a total of 6 months payment holiday then you can’t extend your payment holiday. If you’re worried about restarting your mortgage payments, then the rest of this page will give you details about ways in which we or independent organisations may be able to help you.
If you’ve taken a payment holiday on your credit card and it’s coming to an end, we’ll contact you before your statement is due. If you’re worried about restarting your payments, we’re here to help. You may previously have been asked to fill in an online form at the end of your current payment holiday – you don’t need to do this now. Simply follow the steps below, which depend on your individual circumstances.
If you’ve had less than 6 months payment holiday and you were up to date with your payments when you first took your payment holiday, please call us, as we may be able to offer you an extension to your payment holiday. Please think carefully before choosing to extend your payment holiday. Interest will continue to be added to your balance meaning the amount you owe will increase.
To call us, our number is 0800 389 6655. If you’re a Business Banking customer, our number is 0800 218 2345. We can only offer you an extension if you get in touch with us by the date in the communication we sent to you and your extended payment holiday can’t cover any payments that are due after 31 July 2021.
If you were behind on your payments, we’ll need you to complete our online budget planner before you call us. It’s really important you do this so that we can discuss all the options we have available to support you. For details about how to complete our budget planner, called MyFinances, head to the ‘Budget planning’ section of this page. You'll need a unique reference number to get started (to get this, type in ‘uniquereference’ into the ‘Chat with us’ banner on the right hand side of this page).
If you’ve already taken a total of 6 months payment holiday then you can’t extend your payment holiday. If you’re worried about restarting your credit card payments, then the rest of this page will give you details about ways in which we or independent organisations may be able to help you.
If you’ve taken a payment holiday on your personal loan and it’s coming to an end, we’ll contact you before your next payment is due. If you’re worried about restarting your payments, we’re here to help. You may previously have been asked to fill in an online form at the end of your current payment holiday – you don’t need to do this now. Simply follow the steps below, which depend on your individual circumstances.
If you’ve had less than 6 months payment holiday and you were up to date with your payments when you first took your payment holiday, please call us, as we may be able to offer you an extension to your payment holiday. Please think carefully before choosing to extend your payment holiday. Interest will continue to be charged monthly at your contracted APR for the period of your requested payment holiday and will be added to your account.
To call us, our number is 0800 678 3322. We can only offer you an extension if you get in touch with us by the date in the communication we sent to you and your extended payment holiday can’t cover any payments that are due after 31 July 2021.
If you were behind on your payments, we’ll need you to complete our online budget planner before you call us. It’s really important you do this so that we can discuss all the options we have available to support you. For details about how to complete our budget planner, called MyFinances, head to the ‘Budget planning’ section of this page. You'll need a unique reference number to get started (to get this, type in ‘uniquereference’ into the ‘Chat with us’ banner on the right hand side of this page).
If you’ve already taken a total of 6 months payment holiday then you can’t extend your payment holiday. If you’re worried about restarting your loan payments, then the rest of this page will give you details about ways in which we or independent organisations may be able to help you.
If you asked for temporary overdraft support and it’s coming to an end, we’ll contact you with details of how we can help you further.
If you’d like to see other ways we may be able to help you please take a look at the ‘Having problems making payments or with charges?’ section.
Taking control
- It’s a good idea to contact the companies you may have Direct Debits, standing orders or repayments set up with.
- Explain your circumstances to them and see if they can help with lowering repayments, or changing dates to better suit you.
- Make sure you’ve cancelled non-essential spend. Take a look at our ways to cut your spending page for hints and tips.
- We also suggest completing a budget planner so that you can get an overall picture of your incomings and outgoings. Our ‘Budget planning’ section on this page shows you how to get started.
- The amount of arranged overdraft interest you pay depends on the amount of the overdraft you use in a month.
- We might be able to organise a long term payment plan for you to pay back the arranged overdraft back at an affordable cost.
- Look at completing our budget planner, found in the ‘Budget planning’ section on this page, to provide us with your incomings and outgoings and we can figure out an affordable amount for your plan.
- Independent organisations like PayPlan and StepChange may also be able to help you. Check our independent help and support page for more.
- Arranged overdrafts can be reduced if you ask us online, over the phone or in a branch. See our ‘Ways to get in touch’ section to speak with us.
- We can reduce arranged overdrafts down by £50 at a time. You'll need to have at least £50 in your account for us to reduce your arranged overdraft. When you're ready just let us know you'd like us to reduce your limit.
- Have a look at completing a budget planner (see our ‘Budget planning’ section on this page on how to get started). Then you can see what repayments you may be able to afford.
- Once you've done this and if you feel able to pay off your overdue amount in full, you can use this form to arrange the payment
- If you're a current account or personal loan customer and you'd prefer to pay back your arrears in monthly instalments up to 3 months, we can get you set up for this online
- If you have an overdue amount on your credit card or mortgage, and you want to repay in instalments, you'll need to speak to us, take a look at the ‘Talk to us’ section below.
- If you feel you need longer than 3 months to pay off your overdue amount, and you’ve completed our budget planner, please do give us a call. A member of our team will be able to discuss the options available and find a solution that works for you. You can find our number in the ‘Talk to us’ section below.
The idea of looking at your budget may feel daunting and it may even be something you’ve never done before, but it’s your first step towards getting back on track if you’re worried about your finances. Plus, when you speak to us, we’ll already know what you earn and how much you spend, which helps us to offer more personal support. It may also help you to quickly identify ways to save money, and start to reduce your debt straight away.
- See where your money is going
- Organise your spending
- Reach your financial goals
- Manage financial difficulties
We have 2 budget planners
Before you start, get as much information ready as you can. Things like bank statements and bills will help you get the details you need to put into the budget planner right.
MyFinances
Our budget planner is called MyFinances. Use this planner if you want to speak to us about your finances. We’ll ask you to create an account the first time you use it so have your reference number ready. If you already have an account then simply log in here. Use this budget planner if we've asked you to fill one in, or you need to speak to us about your finances.
Budget Planner
This is an anonymous budget planner, which you can use without sharing your personal details with us. Use this planner if you just need a sense of your situation and your outgoings. Santander won’t see this information or be able to discuss it with you.
To complete the Santander budget planner you’ll need a reference number, which you can get by typing in ‘uniquereference’ into the ‘Chat with us’ banner on the right hand side of this page.
If you’re having problems with your payments it’s vital that you talk to us as soon as possible. There are a number of ways we may be able to help you. You’ll find some information on the types of support we could offer below.
Before you call us, it’s really important you complete a budget planner. It’s a great starting point when you speak to us which means you won’t be on the telephone any longer than you need to be. Further details about budget planning, and how to access a budget planner, can be found in the ‘Budget planning’ section of this page.
If you’ve lost your job or are recently retired, please go to the Department of Work and Pensions website to check if you’re eligible for support for mortgage interest.
If you’re using your overdraft and you’re struggling to repay it, it’s really important that you talk to us about it.
If you’re unsure what your overdraft might cost please visit our cost calculator
If you’re looking for guidance but don’t know where to start. You could also take a look at the Money Navigator tool provided by the Money Advice Service.
If you’re having difficulties please phone us as soon as possible, it will help to avoid late payment charges.
- Plan your budget and keep referring back to it. You can find out more about budget planning in the section above.
- Take some time to list how much you owe and who you owe it to.
- Get in touch with the people you owe money to – hiding from money worries makes them worse, never better.
- If you do have enough money to make your payments but sometimes find they're not being paid on the most suitable date or in the best way, it’s often simple to change payment dates to when you’ve just had money in.
- Check price comparison sites to see if you could save money on regular payments such as energy, broadband and insurance bills.
- In case you're entitled to benefits you're not claiming, take a look at the Department of Work and Pensions website
- If you think gambling is having an impact on you, we're here to help. Visit our gambling help page to learn more.
- Our free text and email alerts let you stay up-to-date with what's happening in your accounts. Take a look at the account alerts page to find how to get them.
- We have a range of video guides available to support you, from budgeting to borrowing and where to get help if you're struggling.
We’ve got loads more helpful information for you in our ‘Help with managing my money’ section.
Independent support
On our independent help and support page you can find some organisations who can help with free advice. Whether for financial support or well-being, we’ve got you covered.
You may also have heard about the Debt Respite Scheme (breathing space) which can help customers with problem debt. You can find more information about the scheme on our dedicated page
Help managing your accounts
Supported banking
If you need extra help with your money, or you want to make plans for a time when you might not be able to manage your money yourself, there is a range of options available to help you. Find out more in our supported banking section.
Talk to us
Chat with us
The quickest and easiest way to get in touch is by clicking on ‘Chat with us’ in our Mobile Banking app, or when you’re logged on to Online Banking.
Being logged on to Online Banking or the app when you click to chat means we’ll know it’s you and will be able to discuss things in more detail.
Once you’ve clicked on ‘Chat with us’, type in ‘Money Worries’ and tell us a bit about your situation.
We’ll use the information you give us to decide the best way to help:
- We may connect you to our helpful team.
- We’ll let you know about charities and debt advice organisations who can help you.
- We’ll take a look at your account to see what we can do to help you.
- We’ll never share your information.
Call us
If you’d prefer to speak to someone on the phone, see the ‘having problems making payments or with charges’ section for the number you need to call.