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National Debt Relief review

National Debt Relief is a private company – not affiliated with the government – that offers debt management services.

If you’re struggling to pay off your debts, there’s a number of companies that offer debt management advice to help you get back on your feet.

Find out how National Debt Relief works and compare your other debt-relief options.

What is National Debt Relief?

National Debt Relief is a private company that helps find solutions for people currently in debt. If you currently have debts with at least two lenders, such as a credit card or a personal loan, National Debt Relief can help set you up with a debt management plan, so you can pay off your debt in a more manageable way.

How does it work?

If you’re struggling to pay off your debt, National Debt Relief will negotiate with your creditors to lower your debt repayments. This is an informal agreement designed to make your repayments more affordable and increase the likelihood that you’ll be able to pay off your debt to the creditors.

National Debt Relief can set up your debt management plan on the same day, and you can then start paying off your debt using smaller ongoing repayments. As you’ll be making smaller repayments, the length of time you’ll need to pay off your debt will be longer. This means you may also end up paying more in interest if your creditor doesn’t agree to freeze or reduce your interest rate.

The agreement continues until the debt has been paid off, or until your circumstances change.

How much does it cost?

National Debt Relief charges no upfront fees, but you will pay a minimum monthly fee of £25, with a maximum monthly fee of £50. There is also a £2 fee per account with each lender. This is in addition to the agreed repayments you’ll have to make to pay off your debt.

Pros and cons of National Debt Relief

Pros

  • Makes your repayments more affordable
  • You can avoid bankruptcy
  • National Debt Relief can manage creditors on your behalf

Cons

  • Monthly fees
  • You may pay more in interest
  • It may affect your credit score

What are my other options?

You have a number of other options when it comes to paying off your debt. These include:

  • Individual voluntary agreement. Also known as an IVA, this is a formal debt solution that is agreed upon by your creditors and normally lasts up to five years. An insolvency practitioner will set up the terms of the IVA, and you are then required to make repayments for an agreed period of time. Once the IVA period ends, any remaining debt is written off.
  • Bankruptcy. There are two forms of bankruptcy in the UK, and these are known as debtors petition and creditors petition. Under a debtors petition, you declare yourself as bankrupt. Under a creditors petition, bankruptcy must be requested by a creditor to whom you owe more than £5,000. While declaring bankruptcy will generally wipe your debt, it also has a number of downsides. Your assets are likely to be sold and your credit history will be negatively affected. Bankruptcy may also have implications for those working in certain professions, such as law, politics and business.
  • Debt consolidation. If you have multiple outstanding debts or loans, you can consolidate them into a single loan and one repayment. If the interest rate on your new loan is lower than that of your existing loans, you will likely save money on your repayments and will not be faced with managing multiple debts and repayments.
  • Debt relief order. If you have debts of less than £20,000, less than £50 of disposable income and less than £1,000 worth of assets, you can apply for a debt relief order. This is a cheaper alternative to declaring bankruptcy but also lets you write off your debts, provided your situation doesn’t change in 12 months. Like bankruptcy, there are a number of implications for getting a debt relief order.

Who else offers debt management plans?

The MoneyHelper is an independent organisation set up by the British government that offers financial and debt management advice.

There are also a number of private companies that can help, including Money Plus, Debt Advisory Line, Harrington Brooks and Debt Free Direct.

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