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Token payment plan (TPP)

A token payment plan (TPP) is a short-term way to deal with the people you owe when you do not have much money at the moment but expect your situation to get better soon. You pay as little as £1 to each debt each month for up to a year.

Get online debt advice to find out if a TPP is right for you

  England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Token payment plans (TPP) with StepChange

A TPP with StepChange is free. We will help you to keep your creditors at bay while you improve your situation.

Since 1993, we have given expert advice to millions of people across the UK. Our advice is personalised and trusted by creditors. We show you ways you can deal with your debts based on what is best for you and your situation.

Affordable payments

We know that life changes happen, and sometimes you might have more money going out than coming in. Token payments to creditors can be as little as £1 per month.

We deal with your creditors

Dealing with the people you owe can be stressful, but we are here to help. When you set up your TPP with us, we will speak to your creditors for you and let them know you are getting help from us. We will let you know of any changes and updates from your creditors over the course of your plan.

Get space and time to improve your situation

You don't have to deal with everything alone. We let your creditors know you are in financial hardship and ask them to accept token payments while you work on making your situation better.

Single monthly payments

You make one payment to us every month. This can be as low as £1 per debt. We then share the money with the people you owe.

No fees

At StepChange, we do not charge fees for our advice or service. All the money you send us goes to paying off your debts.

Benefits of a TPP

  • You send a payment to us once a month. Then we pay your creditors for you
  • We do not charge any fees. All the money you pay goes to repaying your debts
  • Interest and charges on your debts are often stopped. This is for your creditors to decide
  • Payments to your less important, or 'non-priority' debts will be reduced. This makes it easier to pay for your living costs

Risks of a TPP

  • Your creditors might not accept the lower payment offer. But they cannot refuse any payment you make
  • Your creditors do not have to stop interest and charges. So the amount you owe may keep rising
  • Creditors might still ask you to make bigger payments. But you don't have to pay any more than you can afford
  • Your credit file will be affected. This is because you are making lower payments to your debts than what has been agreed
  • Creditors can still take further action against you to recover the debt. You are not protected from court action, like County Court Judgments (CCJs) or Decrees

Ready to find out if a TPP is right for you?

Use our online debt advice service to find out what options you have for dealing with your debt. Start, pause and pick up again in your own time.

Start online debt advice now

There is no impact on your credit score

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Kathryn on Feefo says:

"Fantastic service. StepChange have helped me deal with a complete mess I made of my finances with no judgement. Their advisors are so kind and helpful, I was never made to feel ashamed of the predicament I got myself into. I'm now on a path to get my debts paid off which has relieved so much stress and worry. I'm very grateful for StepChange."

Read more reviews from people we helped

How can I find out if a token payment plan (TPP) is right for me?

  1. To find out if a TPP is right for you, you will need to start by using our online debt advice tool, or you can contact us
  2. We need to learn more about you to give you advice. Through our online tool, we will ask you for details about yourself and your situation. This includes basic information about you, as well as information about your income, spending and debts. This can be a long process, but you can pause and come back at any time
  3. From the information you gave us, we will give you options on the best ways to deal with your debt. Make sure you read this through before making your choice. If you live in England or Wales, you may even be able to apply for Breathing Space. This will give you a break from hearing from your creditors, so you can get things sorted in peace
  4. If a TPP is right for you and you choose to go ahead with it, we will work together to get your plan set up. You will need to sign a TPP agreement, provide proof of income and information about your debts. At this stage you will also need to decide on what payment method works best for you
  5. Once we have set up your TPP, keep your details up to date and we will sort out the payments for you
  6. Don't forget, we are here to help you through the full term of your TPP. As soon as your situation gets better, we can take another look at your budget and look into longer term options

What people ask us about TPPs

It usually lasts for around a year. But it depends on your situation.

Once your situation gets better, we ask you to get back in touch so we can take another look at your budget. Then we can talk to you about other ways you may be able to deal with your debts.

If your situation does not get better before your TPP comes to an end, don't worry. There will be other solutions open to you. You can get back in touch with us again and we will take a look at other ways you can deal with your debts.

Your monthly TPP payment covers your less important (or 'non-priority') debts.

Some debts cannot be included in your TPP, such as:

  • Secured debts: These are debts that are tied to an item of value that can be taken away, like your home. This includes mortgages, secured loans and hire purchase on vehicles
  • Priority debts: These are important payments which can come with serious consequences if you do not pay them. This includes rent or mortgage, council tax, utility bills, TV licence and court fines
  • Priority arrears: These are missed payments to important debts and bills, such as rent, mortgage or council tax

If you cannot afford to make regular payments on your priority bills, you should get in touch with your creditors. You can ask them to agree to smaller payments for a short period of time.

Learn more about priorities, including which bills you need to pay first.

The payments you agree with your creditors when you first take out the debt are called 'contractual payments'. The payments you make through your TPP will be lower than the contractual payments, so they are recorded as 'partial payments' on your credit file.

If you miss payments, you are at risk of 'defaulting'. This is also recorded on your credit file. Your payment history stays on your credit file for six years.

You can work on recovering your credit file later, once your money situation gets better. It is best to focus on handling your debts first.

Find out more about how debt affects a credit file.

A TPP and Breathing Space are different, but they both can give you some time to deal with your finances.

Breathing Space is a free government scheme in England and Wales. For up to 60 days, while you work out how to deal with your debt, your creditors cannot:

  • Add interest or charges to your debts
  • Take action to enforce the debt
  • Contact you with anything other than a statement

When you get debt advice with us, we will let you know if this is an option for you. Find out more about Breathing Space.

In Scotland, you may be able to apply for a 'debt moratorium period' while you set up certain debt solutions.

You cannot pay your TPP using an overdraft account.

If you have a debt linked to your day-to-day bank account, like an overdraft, it could be a risk to keep the account as it is. In rare cases, your bank can freeze your account and use a rule called the 'right of set-off' to take money from it to pay the other debt.

Even though this is rare, we do recommend moving your money to a basic bank account so you are not at risk of this happening.

Talk to your bank if you have an account like this. They should help you to separate the debt from your account. Or you can change banks and see if you can set up a basic bank account elsewhere. These are accounts that do not come with extra services like overdrafts.

Learn more about basic bank accounts.

Worried about money?

Use our online tool to get free debt advice tailored to your situation.

Get debt help now

Debt happens. We deal with it.

We have helped millions of people since 1993.

Find out how.

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"Very good - makes it less daunting to face my struggles with helpful and friendly advice and understanding."

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While we hold your money, it’s covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which can pay compensation if we’re unable to meet our financial obligations. You can find out more on the FSCS website, www.fscs.org.uk.