Specialist Debt Advice Service

Professionals can contact Shelter's specialist debt advice team for consultancy support. Call our helpline on 03300 580 404 or chat to an adviser on this page.

Our helpline and webchat are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

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 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.

Use our online resources

Our online advice answers some common questions about:

  • debt relief orders

  • money claims and judgments

  • guarantor agreements

  • banking and financial services

  • charging orders and orders for sale

  • mortgage possession proceedings

You can access our webchat from any of these pages to check your understanding with our expert advisers.

Read more about debt and money on Shelter Legal

Visit our resources for debt advisers page for updates from SDAS.

Accredited by Recognising Excellence AQS.

Logo confirming Specialist Debt Advice are accredited by Recognising Excellence

Find out more about the advice quality standard.

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