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Payments

Direct Debit payments

Direct Debit is the cheapest, easiest and most convenient way to pay.

It’s completely free and gives you one less thing to worry about as we’ll take the payment straight from your bank account on the 1st or 10th of each month. If your payment changes, we’ll amend your Direct Debit, which means you won’t need to contact your bank to make the changes.

You can set up a Direct Debit by giving us your details online. By completing this simple and secure form your payment will be arranged straight away. Once we’ve got your details, we'll send you written confirmation.

Alternatively, you can set up a Direct Debit by contacting us.

Standing orders and online payments

If you choose to pay by standing order you need to arrange for your bank to send us the payment on the 1st of each month. The payment needs to be paid to:

Sort code: 20 48 46

Account number: 70238163

You will need to include your client reference number and surname with each payment. Make sure there is a space between them. Like this:

Payment reference: 1234567 Smith

If your payment changes, you'll have to contact your bank and ask them to send the new amount.

These bank details can also be used to make ad-hoc online payments, but don't forget to check for payment cut-off dates each month.

FAQs

Your creditors get your DMP payments within five days of you sending them to us, but it can take a few days to add the payment to your account.

If a creditor says they have not received payment, check the following:

  • Did you make your DMP payment on time?
  • Has the debt been passed to another company?
  • Do we have the correct account or reference number for the debt?

If you think a payment is missing, please contact us for further advice.

We send your payment to your creditors within 5 working days of receiving it from you.

We pay most creditors by electronic transfer so the payment will normally be applied to your account with them the same day.

Some creditors ask us to pay them by cheque. Because they have to processes these manually the payment won’t be applied to your account until a few days after we've sent it.

If you can't make your DMP payment, please call us to discuss this as soon as possible. If it is a one-off we will let your creditors know. If you're struggling to make your DMP payments every month we'll need to review your budget.

You shouldn't borrow money to make your DMP payments, even from family or friends.

We can only accept your DMP payments monthly.

If you're paid weekly or fortnightly you'll need to set aside some money from each wage towards your DMP payment. It may help to set up a separate account for this.

If you're paid four-weekly, your payment date will move slightly earlier each month. Take care to ensure there's enough in your account when your DMP payment is due.

If you've missed the deadline for your DMP payment, it's possible to pay your creditors directly. If you have to do this, please contact us to let us know. Make sure that your payments arrive with your creditors by the 28th of the month.

This should only be done as a last resort after you've spoken to us. You need to make sure you go back to making your normal payments the following month.

If you're able to offer a lump sum of money, a creditor may agree to take less than the full balance and write off the remainder of the debt. They would be agreeing to accept this lump sum as a 'full and final settlement'.

If you've got a lump sum please contact us for advice on how to use this to clear your debts.

If you made a reduced DMP payment last month, you can make up the difference if you can afford it. If you want to make a larger payment by direct debit, please contact us to change the next payment amount. If you pay by other means, you'll need to arrange the higher payment yourself. Please let us know if you do this.

Most creditors are paid using a monthly electronic transfer. Some creditors are paid by monthly cheque. These are the only methods we use to send money to your creditors.

Dont give your creditors your bank account or debit card numbers. They are receiving a monthly payment through us so there's no reason for them to have this information.

When you pay us by Direct Debit, we can only accept payments on the 1st or 10th of the month. If you have a creditor who needs your payment by a different date, you have a couple of options:

1. You can cancel your Direct Debit and pay by standing order instead.

Paying by standing order means you can pay us on a date of your choice. You can set this up through your bank easily on your banking app or online banking.

You can cancel your Direct Debit by contacting your bank, or speaking to one of our advisors.

2. You can contact your creditor and ask to change your payment date with them.

Your creditors might let you change your payment date if you explain that StepChange are making payments to them on your behalf.

It is best to make sure that your creditors will not charge a fee to change your payment date with them. If this is the case, it may be a better option to change your payment date with us as we will do this for free.