Making sure it’s National Debtline
Over the past few months there has been an increase of debt advice related scams in the UK.
We want you to feel confident that when you contact our advisers you are speaking to the right people and not someone trying to impersonate us.
There are 2 ways you can contact us:
- Calling us on 0808 808 4000
- Web chat on our website www.nationaldebtline.org
We’re open: Monday to Friday 9am-8pm
Saturday 9:30am-1pm
Things you should look out for
We will never call you first. If you haven’t called National Debtline, our advisers will never:
- cold call you on your mobile or landline
- send you an email
We also will not contact you via WhatsApp.
We may respond to comments or messages on our Facebook page but our advisers do not give debt advice on Facebook.
If this happens you should hang up, block the call or WhatsApp message and report the email.
We will never ask you to pay for our debt advice service – everything we do is free.
If you need to check in with us, the quickest way is on our website with Webchat where you will be in touch with a real person.
You can also call us free on 0808 808 4000.
Sharing your data
You should never share confidential data (bank accounts, national insurance numbers, etc.) with anyone who calls you if you haven’t called them first.
If you receive an email or a link to a website
Check the address very carefully for mis spellings, additions to the letters at the end, etc.
Our website address is www.nationaldebtline.org
Not, for example:
www.nationaldebtsline.org
www.nationaldebtline.org.uk
www.nationaldebthelpline.org
Any email you receive claiming to be from us that comes from an outlook.com, or gmail.com account should be treated as fraud.
Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs)
If you’ve been contacted by someone claiming to be from National Debtline about an IVA, then it’s highly likely that this is a scam.
To find out more about IVAs either visit the links to our summary page or in-depth guide below.
Summary page: https://nationaldebtline.org/get-information/summaries/individual-voluntary-arrangements-ew/
In-depth guide: https://nationaldebtline.org/get-information/guides/individual-voluntary-arrangements-ew/
Checking and verifying details with external organisations.
If you’re still unsure about who you are dealing with there are a number of official websites that you can check for more information.
Charity Commission
The Money Advice Trust, which runs National Debtline, is a registered charity. Our registration number is 1099506.
You can check if any company is a registered charity on the Charity Commission website.
Are they authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)?
The Money Advice Trust, which runs National Debtline, is registered and authorised by the FCA to give debt advice. Our authorisation number is 618928.
If you suspect someone who has contacted you is not who they say they are check the FCA register to see if they are on there.
The FCA also issues warnings about clone firms.
Clone firms are when fraudsters (who are not authorised by the FCA) copy the details of FCA authorised firms to try and convince people that their firm is genuine.
You can check the FCA news page to see if the company appears in the warnings list. They have already issued a warning about a firm pretending to be National Debtline. Be cautious as some companies have even tried to imitate our adverts including using the exact same words and similar branding.