How should I ask for a payment break?
If you’re considering asking for a payment break, you’ll need to give your creditors some information about your circumstances to support your request. They’ll probably want to know about your income, living expenses and other debts.
You can use our online Debt Remedy tool to help you put together a budget to send to your creditors, or call our debt Helpline (free from all landlines and mobiles).
You'll need to tell your creditors the reason you're asking for a payment break and when you'll be able to start making normal payments again.
If your creditors agree to a payment break, ask them to send you a letter or email to confirm this. Payments you should have made will need to be paid after the payment break ends, either by increasing the amount of your future payments, or by adding extra months to the end of the agreement so it takes longer to pay back.
Be prepared that creditors may not agree. If they don’t, contact us and we can look at alternative ways to help you deal with a short-term debt problem. Some creditors will point you towards a free debt advice agency like us anyway if you contact them to ask for a payment break.