Find out how to get help before and after you borrow money. There’s even help to correct your credit report and deal with problems with goods bought on credit.

You may need help to:

If you’re having difficulty keeping up with your payments, don’t ignore it. Even if your debt is not secured on your home, failing to pay it could put your home at risk. This is because the provider may ask the courts to allow it to secure the debt on your home. If this happens, then the provider may be able to repossess your property.

No matter how bad things may seem, the good news is that you can get free and expert help. Several organisations can help you find out where you stand and your legal rights. They can also arrange for a debt adviser to deal with lenders to suggest a way forward.

Don't struggle alone – get help now – see Related links.

Be careful about offers to consolidate your borrowing into one easy monthly repayment. You may end up paying more overall and increasing the risk of losing your home if you don’t keep up repayments. Speak to a free, independent debt adviser first.

Some lenders suggest you buy payment protection insurance (PPI) from them when you start a credit card or loan. PPI helps you keep up your payments on a loan or credit card, in the event you can’t work because of illness or redundancy – but only usually for a fixed period of time. This means that the insurance company will pay the monthly repayments (or a percentage of them) on your behalf for a set time – usually 12 or 24 months. For more information see Payment protection insurance.

Before taking out PPI, check that you really need it, and that you’re not covered elsewhere. Shop around for the best deal, and check whether there are any restrictions or exclusions that could make it difficult claiming under the policy. You can compare the features and costs of PPI products using our impartial comparison tables at Compare PPI.

If you can afford to borrow, shop around to find the best deal for you. You can use a credit broker to help you shop around and arrange a loan. But check if they’ll charge for this. Keep in mind that if the broker has not arranged a loan for you within six months, the maximum they can charge you is £5.

You can shop around by using comparison websites that let you compare products from different companies. If you’re looking for a loan from a home credit lender, you can use Lenders Compared, an independent comparison website – see Related links.

Be careful not to apply for credit until you have decided on the best deal. Applying for several credit products within a short period can damage your credit score – see Credit scoring. Even when you’re just shopping around, lenders may want to check your credit report before giving you a quote for the cost of credit. Make sure you ask the lender to make a 'quotation search' instead of a 'credit application search'. Lenders know that quotation searches do not represent actual credit applications, so they won’t harm your credit score in the future.

If a firm selling you a product has arranged a loan for you to buy their product, the lender may also be responsible for the purchase. This means that if anything goes wrong with the supplier you may be able to get your money back from the lender. For example, if the goods are not delivered or are faulty, you can claim your money back from either the lender or the supplier. This could be useful if, say, the supplier goes bust.

You are entitled to this protection by law (under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974), but there are exceptions. The lender is only liable if the cash price of the goods or services you pay (or make part payment) for is at least £100 and no more than £30,000.

This law also applies to credit card purchases (but not credit card cheques) – see Getting help in Credit cards made clear.

If something goes wrong, for example you think you have been wrongly charged for something, contact the firm and ask them to put things right. If you’re not satisfied with their response, you may be able to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The firm will give you the details of the complaints procedure. See If things go wrong for more information.

If you’re approached by a loan shark or if you’re having problems with one you’ve borrowed money from, contact the Stop Loan Sharks helpline – see Related links.

If there’s something wrong on your credit report, you can contact the lender or the credit reference agency. If you contact the credit reference agency, they will normally need to contact the lender and ask them to investigate your complaint. So it may be quicker to write directly to the lender yourself. This will also save you having to write to each of the agencies that hold the information you think is wrong. If you’re not satisfied with their response, you may be able to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.