- Reduced payments: We can reduce or stop your payments for a little while, to get you to a point where you can start full payments again. This will show as arrears on your credit records and we’ll need to make an arrangement for you to repay the missed payments once your situation improves. We'll continue to charge interest on the mortgage even when payments are temporarily suspended.
- A temporary payment of just the interest: We might be able to move you temporarily to an interest-only mortgage for a short time. This will reduce your payments but it’s important to remember that you won’t be paying back any of the original amount borrowed, so you’ll need to repay it in the future which will mean your payments increase.
Payment difficulties
We're here to help you get back in control of your finances.
Having difficulty paying your mortgage? Talk to us, we’re here to help
There are all sorts of reasons why people can end up with financial worries and the cost of living has now become another concern for many of us.
We can work with you to provide support that’s based on your circumstances and what you can afford to pay. But it’s important that you tackle the problem straight away, so call us as soon as you can and we’ll see how we can work together.
Calling us to talk about your options doesn’t mean we make notes on your credit file
That may only happen if we go on to make an arrangement with you, depending on what that arrangement is. Any arrears on your account will be reported though and this could affect your ability to obtain credit in future.
Missed a mortgage payment or worried that you will?
If you’ve already missed a payment, or think you will in future, call us as soon as you can. Telling us will help you prevent things spiralling or getting even harder to manage.
If you’re coming to the end of your fixed-rate mortgage and are worried about affording a potential increase in your monthly payments, we can talk about that too.
Next steps/ Here to support you
Don’t wait until you’ve missed a payment. The sooner you get in touch, the more options we could have to help you. We’ll need to ask you questions to understand your financial circumstances and current situation, our experienced advisors will talk this through with you. With your permission we can also talk to someone on your behalf.
You’ll see more information below. This explains other ways you can help yourself and how we can work together. Take your time and have a good read through then, when you’re ready, Budgeting is a good place to start. With cost of living increases changing month by month, budgeting will give you a good guide of where you’re at with your finances. And we’ll walk you through the bits we think you need to know.
Contact us
Call us on 0800 121 8765. It’s free, we aim to answer quickly and our advisers are keen to help.
If you’d prefer a call back, just fill in our Help and Support form and we’ll be in touch.
Mortgage Charter
If you haven’t missed any payments, but are struggling with your mortgage, you may qualify for help under the Mortgage Charter.
UK Finance Member
We’re a Member of UK Finance who have created some helpful guidance that may help you - for more information you can visit their website.
Budgeting
Budgeting is making a list of what’s coming in and going out of your account each month. You make a list of what you earn, what you owe, and what you spend. Having those numbers in front of you will help you understand exactly how stretched your finances are or if there are some costs you could cut for the time being.
Your finances are as individual as you are. It’s really important that we understand your situation so that we can find options that’ll work best for you.
Save time by using our interactive budget tool
Try our interactive budget tool, Paylink, which will walk you through the budget process. It should take around 10-15 minutes to complete but you can go at your own pace. It can also get information from your credit data to make the process easier (don’t worry - this won’t show up on your credit record and is optional).
You can stop and start Paylink whenever you like, and give us a call if you get stuck. When you get to the end, you can share your budget with us (we’ll call you once we have reviewed it) and also keep a copy to share with anyone else you need to.
If you’d prefer to just fill in a simple budget planner form instead, we’ve included one here.
What you’ll need
Gather your bank statements, payslips, and anything else that’ll help you work out how much money you’re spending and earning.
The budget planner is provided by our partners PayLink Solutions. As soon as you arrive at the log in page please read the Privacy Policy to understand how your data will be used and managed. If you have any concerns about this please contact us.
PayPlan provide this self help guide BudgetSmart where you can find routes to support for many of your regular bills along with ways you can potentially increase or access benefits you may be entitled to.
What are my options?
The short answer is that it depends on your budget and how your circumstances will impact you. We’ll make sure all the options we suggest are affordable, tailored to your needs and focused on what you can afford to pay.
Short term options
Longer term options
- Changing your mortgage product: by changing your mortgage product, you could reduce your payments. If you're on a variable rate mortgage, you could fix your rate which would give you certainty in the long-term.
Remember, your mortgage might have ERCs (Early Repayment Charges) that apply. If you choose to look at other mortgage products, we can help you see if changing could help. - A mortgage term extension: if you have a repayment (i.e. not interest-only) mortgage, spreading the repayments over a longer period of time will lower your monthly payments. However, it means that you’ll have a mortgage for longer and pay more interest than you would have done originally. But you can always reduce your term again in the future if things improve for you.
- An option to sell: if you don’t expect to be able to afford the mortgage in the long term, we can give you time to sell your property, and we can help you along that process while holding off on any action.
Making an arrangement
We’ll always do our best to support you
But we can only help when we understand what’s causing your problems, how long it’s likely to last, and what your budget situation is at the moment. The cost of living may be one factor, or it could be one of a few.
If you’ve used our Paylink budget tool, we’ll be able to see that information on our systems. If not, we’ll gather this information over the phone. The more information you have to hand (like bank statements and pay slips), the better. As soon as we’ve got a clear picture of your circumstances, we’ll discuss your options with you.
Please don’t cancel your mortgage payment until we’ve spoken to you. Missed payments will affect your credit rating and you could be charged fees for any letters we have to send about your unpaid direct debit. So it’s important we come up with a plan together as quickly as possible to avoid this happening.
Getting some more help
If you’ve got other credit commitments (for example, unsecured personal loans or credit cards), talking to each creditor separately — and going over the same information with each of them — can take up a lot of time.
Independent and impartial Free Debt Advice organisations can do some of this work for you. They’ll go through your situation, and discuss your budget and what you owe, so they can make a plan with your creditors. They can also make sure you’re getting any benefits you might be entitled to.
All of these organisations have lots of information on their websites. They’re all regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so you know you’re dealing with the right people to help you:
These organisations do not work for us or any other Lender and will advise based on what is best for you.
PayPlan also provide this self help guide BudgetSmart where you can find routes to support for many of your regular bills along with ways you can potentially increase or access benefits you may be entitled to.
Do you have an income protection policy?
Check any income protection policies you might have, as these could help your situation.
Read our payment difficulties FAQs for more information
Want help?
Our help section is bursting with useful information. If you'd rather chat, just give us a call.
Call us on 0800 121 8899
Lines open
- Mon-Fri 8am-7pm
- Saturday 9am-2pm
- Sunday & Bank holidays Closed
Yesterday, people waited on average
17 seconds for savings enquiries
17 seconds for mortgage enquiries
Want help?
Our help section is bursting with useful information. If you'd rather chat, just give us a call.
Call us on
0800 121 8899
Monday - Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Saturday
Sunday
Bank holidays
8am - 7pm
9am - 2pm
Closed
Closed
9am - 2pm
Closed
Closed
Yesterday, people waited on average
19 seconds for savings enquiries
6 seconds for mortgage enquiries
