What is financial difficulty?

Financial difficulty is when your income is insufficient to cover reasonable living expenses and meet financial commitments as they become due.

People find themselves in financial difficulty for many reasons. It can be caused by a change in circumstances, redundancy, marital dispute, or can simply be caused by problems managing a budget. We are here to support you if you are in financial difficulty to help you resolve your situation.

Who do I contact if I think I am in financial difficulty?

If you believe that you are experiencing, or will experience, financial difficulties, it is important that you contact us as soon as possible to discuss the situation.

You can visit your nearest branch to speak to one of our advisors who can arrange a free review at a time that suits you. Remember, many branches are now open on a Saturday. If you prefer you can get in touch with our telephone banking team. If you are a Private Banking customer contact your Relationship Manager.

What will happen to me if I am in financial difficulty?

We will work with you to get a clear understanding of your full financial position. This will help us to decide together on the best way to help you. There might be savings and changes to your current banking that you can make straight away which can significantly improve your situation. We can help by:

• Offering services to help you manage your finances more effectively such as alerts when your balance falls below a specific amount
• Reviewing the products you have with us to make sure that they are appropriate and still fulfil your banking needs, for instance:
• Changing your account to a type which does not allow you to go overdrawn
• Reviewing automated transactions e.g. direct debits and standing orders on your account
• Returning and cancelling your cheque books

As a result of our review and depending on your specific circumstances we may also help you identify options to provide additional support, including:

• Where possible, agreeing a manageable repayment plan which you can afford, to help get your finances back on track
• Reviewing charges applied to your account including, in some cases, stopping future charges for a period of time where appropriate to your individual circumstances
• Providing you with contact details for organisations who can give you independent money advice for free

How can I avoid incurring unarranged overdraft charges?

We have a brochure called "A guide to personal account fees and interest" which outlines how the Bank calculates and charges account fees and interest. It also has helpful suggestions on avoiding charges. A copy is available at all our branches or from this link: A guide to personal accounts fees and interest. (PDF, 386KB)

Can you help me manage my finances better?

You can visit our MoneySense website or contact your nearest branch to arrange a meeting with a MoneySense advisor where you will be provided with free, tips and guidance to help you feel confident about understanding and dealing with money.

There are independent organisations that also provide free advice and support on your financial needs such as Citizens Advice Bureau, Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), National Debtline and PayPlan. Details of how you can contact these organisations and other sources of free advice can be found at the Money Advice Service website.