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Check my options

Looking for debt help without starting with a phone call?

Some people cannot make the call. Some will not. The debt system was built around phone lines — here is how far you can get without one, and where the phone genuinely becomes unavoidable.

Written by The My Debt Cleared editorial teamLast reviewed 30 August 2026Jurisdiction United KingdomEditorial policy
You can understand your situation, organise your debts, work out a budget, write to creditors and compare every formal solution entirely online and in writing — that is what this site is for. Free debt advice is also available by webchat and online tools from the major charities, and Breathing Space, IVAs and DROs can all be started through written contact with an adviser. The phone becomes hard to avoid at two points: an authorised adviser must assess you before any formal solution, and some creditors and councils negotiate more readily by phone than by post.

What you can do entirely in writing

Map your debts and affordability with My Debt Map and the budget calculator. Send creditors letters that do the talking — freeze interest, make a pro-rata offer, require written-only contact, prove the debt. Compare every solution on the five questions that separate them. Read what each debt actually does next, from cards to council tax. None of that needs a voice. Regulated advice, and who gives it free, is set out in where to get debt advice.

Free advice online

The major debt charities offer webchat and online advice tools alongside their phone lines: StepChange’s online advice service, National Debtline’s webchat and digital advice, and Citizens Advice’s online guidance. Who they are and what each does is set out honestly — including that they are the right call, or the right chat, for advice we are not authorised to give.

Where the phone tends to return

An authorised adviser must assess your full circumstances before any formal solution — many now do that by video or secure online form, but the assessment itself is not optional. Councils and enforcement agents often resolve arrangements faster by phone. And the Check My Options journey on this site is entirely online, though a phone or email contact is how any authorised firm we introduce would reach you — you choose which, and you can require email only.

Why we built for this

Debt is easier to face in writing for a lot of people: it is slower, it leaves a record, and nobody hears your voice crack. A written-first route is not a lesser route. It is, for many, the only one they will actually take — which makes it the one that works.

Check my options — about 60 seconds