South Ayrshire Council News

Don't Hide From Your Debt campaign poster

If the new year has got off to a bad start for you with debts and bills building up after the festive period, South Ayrshire Council could provide all the help and advice you need if you are in debt or struggling to make ends meet and finding it difficult to make the required repayments.

The Council's debt advisors offer free, impartial and confidential expert advice and last year helped almost 2,000 South Ayrshire residents make their way out of debt. Based at the trading standards office in River Terrace in Ayr, the advisors offer support in person or over the phone.

The services and support they provide range from guiding someone in the right direction or negotiating directly with creditors to set up a payment plan with agreed and realistic payments to giving advice on bankruptcy, trust deeds and the statutory Debt Arrangement Scheme.

Help is available to deal with all types of debt from credit and store cards to mortgage arrears – and the specific advice and support provided is tailored to each individual situation.

Councillor Peter Convery, whose portfolio includes trading standards and debt advice, said: "We know that people in debt often feel there is no way out and no one to turn to and can be attracted to claims by organisations offering apparently easy and quick remedies. However, the outcome of dealing with agencies like these is not always the right one.

"Our advisors recently supported a female resident from Maybole who was paying £260 per month to a debt management company. It turned out £65 of each of her monthly payments – a quarter of what she was paying – was being taken by the company for its fees instead of going to pay her debts. The woman was horrified to discover that one of her creditors had not received any payments at all and had actually started court action against her.

"After she contacted South Ayrshire Council, our debt advisor was able to arrange a manageable repayment programme that avoided further action by creditors. And that's our goal – to provide people with the right advice and support to help them manage rather than hide from their debt."

South Ayrshire Council's debt advisors can be contacted by telephone on 01292 61 60 60 or in person at 5/7 River Terrace, Ayr.