Dealing with debt

Managing debt responsibly

While personal loans, credit cards and overdrafts can help when expensive or unexpected costs pop up, it’s important to make sure that they are managed responsibly. We want to make sure you’re in control, which is why we won’t lend you more than you can afford, and provide you tools to help keep track of your spending.

Think carefully before you borrow

It’s important to carefully consider how you’re going to repay your debts if you borrow money. For instance, if you borrow against your property, you run the risk of paying more and could lose your home if you do not keep up with repayments. If you’re unsure, seek out trusted advice before borrowing.

How we help you to manage your debt

1. Analyse your spending easily with online and mobile banking

Manage your accounts online and on your mobile. Transfer money, pay off credit card debts, and set up additional accounts quickly to suit your needs.

2. Fair and straightforward rates

We believe in being fair and straightforward with you about our rates. This means you’ll know how much you’ll pay and for how long. No hidden fees or extra charges.

3. Automate your payments and direct debits

Know when you need to make payments? You can set up an automated direct debit, meaning your bills will always be paid on time without you needing to worry about it.

Need help with something specific?

Helping to manage repayments

Borrowing money means that you’ll need to pay it back over a period of time. Before doing this, it’s important to make sure that you can comfortably afford the repayments. You should aim to spend less than what you earn, to make sure that you’re saving money.

When you’re budgeting, it’s important to remember that there can always be unexpected, and sometimes expensive, surprises, such as:

Your insurance premiums may increase
Your home or vehicle may need emergency repairs
Your mortgage repayments may increase
There may be a family wedding or funeral overseas
Interest rates may rise or fall

Money Helper has a detailed Budget Planner that can help show you where your money is allocated each month.

Other unfortunate circumstances could also come up – what if you lost your job, retired, were injured, or needed to reduce your working hours?

Saving can help you build a contingency plan for these events, meaning you’re not relying on loans, overdrafts or credit cards when unexpected events happen.

It’s important to stick to your budget once you’ve drawn it up. You can set up balance alerts by logging into your online banking and selecting ‘Useful things to do’. This can help keep you on track by letting you know when your balance has reached a certain amount.

Having trouble with debt?

As a Metro Bank customer, if you’re starting to struggle with your debt, it’s best to let us know so we can help. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can help find a solution.

Struggling with debt can take many forms:

Paying more money out than you have coming in
Having difficulty in keeping on top of your mortgage repayments
Relying on your overdraft to get through the month
Spending the limit on your credit card and struggling to keep up with the repayments
Regularly struggling to pay bills on time or missing payments
A change in your circumstances has left you worrying about money
Paying creditors late as a business owner, including HMRC

We can help support you during these times. If you find you are worrying about money, feel free to contact us on 0203 402 8321 on Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm.

Know which debts to pay first

There are certain debts that need to be paid in full and on time, which are the debts you should prioritise. Some examples of important debts and payments are:

Mortgage or rent payments
Utility bills
Council Tax
Court fines
Money owed to HMRC/DWP
Child support/maintenance payments
TV licence

If you have a mortgage with us and are struggling to meet your repayments, let us know on 0345 319 1201 so we can find a solution together. We’re available 8.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Having a talk with us can help you avoid having to pay more in interest and/or charges.

You can also contact other debt counselling organisations, who can provide you with support and advice, including:

Understanding your credit score

Your credit score is a key factor used by financial institutions to decide whether to lend money to you. The better your score, the better the interest rate you’re likely to get.

Your credit score is partly based on your credit report. These reports are produced by three main companies in the UK. They contain information about how you manage your finances, including bank and credit cards, loans and utility bills and whether you’ve paid on time or missed payments.

You can check your credit report by contacting Equifax, Experian or Credit Karma.

There are several ways you can improve your credit score, and there are a number of organisations who can provide free support and advice on how to do that, including:

Looking for independent advice?

Money Helper can provide independent advice and information on dealing with your debt. Visit them at https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/