The information we provide differs between countries. To get information for your country, please select from the dropdown.
Guidelines for using the letter templates
This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
About the letter templates
To sort out your debt problems you will need to contact your creditors to tell them about your situation and to ask them to accept your repayment plan.
To help you with this, we have created a set of letter templates which you can use to write to your non-priority creditors. Debts owed to non-priority creditors are things like credit card debts, overdrafts and other non-secured loans.
The letter templates help you to write to creditors in different situations. You can't change the main text of the letters but you can add your own details such as your name, address and the reasons why you can't pay the money.
For more information about which debts are non priority-debts and contacting creditors, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Help with debt. In Scotland, see Help with debt.
Problems with using the letters
If you can't see the sample letters page, this may be because the pop-up blocker is activated on your computer. You can temporarily turn off your pop-up blocker to allow you to see the letters. How you do this depends on which internet browser you are using.
Internet explorer
To turn off your pop-up blocker in Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Pop-up Blocker, then Turn off Pop-up Blocker.
Firefox
To turn off your pop-up blocker in Firefox, click on the Tools menu and select Options. Select the Content panel and de-select the Block pop-up windows option.
Opera
To turn off your pop-up blocker in Opera, go to Tools, Preferences, General and then Pop-ups.
When to use the letters
Before using the letters you'll need to work out your budget to see whether you have money available to offer to non-priority creditors.
If you have priority debts, you'll also need to talk to your priority creditors and make arrangements to pay any arrears, before your sort out your non- priority debts. Priority debts are things such as rent, mortgage, council tax, fuel bills or fines.
For more information about priority debts, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Dealing with urgent debts. In Scotland, see Dealing with priority debts.
Which letter to use
You'll need a different letter depending what you want to ask creditors for. Here's a list of the letters and when to use them:
Holding letter
You can use this letter to ask creditors to hold off for a short period while you work out your budget or get advice.
Offer to non-priority creditors letter
You can use this letter when you have some money available to offer your non-priority creditors. You can use the Budgeting tool to work out your budget and fair offers to each of your non-priority creditors.
No money to offer creditors letter
You can use this letter when you have no money available to offer to your non-priority creditors. You can use the Budgeting tool to work out your budget and to see whether you have money available to pay your non priority creditors.
Request to write off the debt letter
You can use this letter when you can't make an offer of repayment and your circumstances are not going to improve.
Ending a hire purchase or conditional sale agreement letter
You can use this letter to end a hire purchase or conditional sale agreement. You might need to do this if you can't afford the payments any more. Before using this letter, it might help to read our information about hire purchase and conditional sale agreements.
How the letter templates work
The letter templates let you do the following things:
- choose a letter from the list
- view a sample letter to make sure it's the kind of letter you want to send
- write a letter with your details in it
- save a letter
- print off a letter.
Choosing a letter
To see the list of letters available, click on Please select a letter template. You can choose the letter you want from the drop down list by clicking on it. You can then choose to:
- view a sample letter or
- write a letter.
Viewing a sample letter
Click on View Sample to look at a sample version of the letter you've chosen, so that you can check what it says. It's a good idea to look at the sample letter before going ahead and creating a letter, to make sure it's right for your needs.
When you click on View Sample, the letter will appear either in a new window or tab, depending on which browser you use. To go back to the letters list, close the window or tab with the letter in it.
How to write a letter
To write a letter with your details in it you'll need to:
- choose a letter from the letters list
- fill in the letter form
- create letter.
Filling in the letter form
Each form has a number of boxes for you to fill in with your information. For example, you will need to fill in your name and address, details of the creditor you are writing to and the reasons why you are having difficulty paying what you owe.
Each letter form is different depending on the letter you are writing.
Tips for filling in the letter forms
Here's some tips for filling in the forms:
- before you fill in the forms, make sure you have the details of the creditors you are writing to. You will need their name and address
- read the information alongside each box to help you fill the form in correctly
- information marked with an asterisk (*) is compulsory. This means you must write something in the box. If you miss out compulsory information a warning will appear on your screen and you will not be able to continue until you put in all the compulsory information
- practice filling in the form and creating a letter before doing a final version. This will help you get used to where the information goes and what it looks like when you create a letter
- in some of the letters you can put in information about yourself and your situation to explain why you are in debt. Think about what you want to say and write your reasons clearly in the box provided. Whatever you put will be inserted into the letter exactly as you write it
- check the letter carefully before you print it off. You can go back to the form and change what you've written.
Creating a letter
To see your letter, click on Create letter. Your letter will appear either in a new window or tab, depending on which browser you use. To go back to the form at any time, close the window or tab with the letter in it.
Joint letters
You may want to write a joint letter from more than one person, for example if you have a debt which is in the name of you and your partner. The letter templates allow you to do this. At the start of the form choose 'yes' to the question Is this a joint debt. This will create a joint letter.
You can put more than one name in the Your name box and both will appear on the letter.
Saving your letter
You can save a pdf version of your letter to your computer or memory stick in the usual way. You will need adobe reader to do this.
Printing your letter
You'll be able to print off your letter from your computer in the usual way.
