Shelter's expert debt advisers provide consultancy support to professionals who help clients with debt problems.
Who we can help
You can contact our advisers by telephone, webchat, and online webform free of charge if you provide debt advice in your role working for:
local Citizens Advice
a local authority
a housing association
an advice agency or law centre that gives free advice to clients
We cannot advise members of the public. Find out where to get help with debt if you need advice for your own debt problems.
This service is funded by the Money and Pensions Service.
What we can help with
We can provide advice and support with debt topics including:
bankruptcy, debt relief orders and breathing space
mortgage repossession and eviction
council tax arrears
enforcement agent visits
County Court claims for debt
fuel and utility arrears
Contact Shelter's NHAS expert advice service for help with possession proceedings for rented property and other housing and homelessness questions.
How to get in touch
You can use our helpline or webchat services for a quick response to your debt questions.
Be ready to provide your contact information and details of where you work. Make sure you are in a private space without your client present.
Use our online webform service if you need to supply lots of background information, or you want to send us documents related to your client's case.
All advice cases are anonymous. We will never ask for your client's details.
Please don't email the team directly. Your message might not be seen straight away, and we'll ask you to submit it again through the online webform.
For repeat enquiries, you'll need to supply your case reference number.
Contact our specialist debt helpline
Call 03300 580 404 to speak to an adviser during our opening hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
We will email you a written record of the phone advice.
Use our specialist debt webchat
Webchat is a quick and easy way to get help with your debt case.
Start a live chat now with an expert debt adviser using the tab on the right-hand side of this page. We'll send you a transcript of the conversation once the chat has ended.
Prepare any documents you want to share by removing your client's personal details.
During the webchat, you can:
ask the adviser questions
give some background detail about the case
share documents with your client's personal data removed
If your enquiry is complex, our adviser might arrange to call you to discuss the case instead.
We might ask you to send us the enquiry by our online webform if it contains lots of detailed information.
Online enquiry service for complex cases
If your enquiry is legally complex, our online webform service might be more suitable. We'll send you a written response within 3 working days, or more quickly if we agree your enquiry is urgent.
Submit an online enquiry on our webform.
Help us to help you
We will give you a case reference number. Your enquiry and response are unique to you, and only you will have access to this information.
Please remove your client's personal details from documents, such as their name, address, date of birth, or anything else that could identify them.
We will return documents containing personal details and ask you to resubmit them. This could delay our advice to you.
How to remove personal details from documents
You can use the Text Highlight Colour tool in Microsoft Word. Use a black highlighter to cover your client's personal details.
If you cannot use the highlighter try using post-it notes to cover information. The pen function does not always remove information effectively.
Once you have done this, save the document with the changes and send it to SDAS.
