One of the first steps in starting to manage your debt is to understand how much you owe.You can find out how much you owe by:
- Asking your lenders - the organisations you owe money to will be able to provide you with the latest account balance.
- Looking through correspondence - if you’ve received emails or letters from your lenders, this may contain your account balances. Many lenders also offer online services, so you can also check your balances through your online accounts.
- Checking your credit report - this will show your balances for all the accounts on your credit file including County Court judgments and Insolvency agreements. Lenders usually take 6-8 week to update reports, so this won’t necessarily show a live picture of your debts.
Once you know this, you can share your level of debt with organisations so they can help you figure out your best options.