Not every business that comes to us should take a loan, and we think it is our job to say so. That is why we routinely signpost customers to free, independent debt advice, and chief among the services we point to is Business Debtline. This is not a commercial partnership and we are paid nothing for it; it is a commitment to make sure businesses under financial pressure know that free, impartial help exists. This article explains who Business Debtline is, when we will point you to them, and why we are comfortable doing that even when it means you do not borrow from us.
Who Business Debtline is
Business Debtline is a free, independent debt advice service for self-employed people and small businesses in the UK. Their advisers are not selling anything and are not connected to us. You can reach them online at businessdebtline.org or by phone on 0800 197 6026. They can help you understand your options, deal with creditors, and make a plan, all at no cost. Because their advice is independent, it is genuinely in your interest, not anyone else’s.
When we will point you to them
There are several moments where free advice may serve you better than a short-term loan, and we would rather flag them than ignore them:
- Before you borrow, if it looks as though a loan would add pressure rather than relieve it.
- If we decline, because sometimes the most useful outcome is a prompt to get free guidance rather than to keep trying to borrow.
- If you are struggling to repay, where talking to an independent adviser alongside talking to us can help you see the whole picture.
Our own guide on where to get free, independent debt advice in the UK lists Business Debtline and other services so you can find the right one for your situation.
Why we signpost, even against our own sales
A short-term Business Bridging Loan is an expensive way to borrow compared with an overdraft or a longer-term facility. Used well, for a genuine short-term need with a clear repayment plan, it can be the right tool. Used to plug a deeper hole, it can make things worse. We would rather a business that needs free advice gets it than takes a loan that does not help. Signposting is part of lending responsibly, and it reflects how we describe our approach in how we lend.
Other free help for businesses
Business Debtline is not the only free option, and the right one depends on the issue:
- The FSB (fsb.org.uk) offers support and resources for small businesses.
- HMRC’s Time to Pay (gov.uk) can help if the pressure is tax arrears.
- A licensed insolvency practitioner (r3.org.uk) can advise where a company is in serious difficulty.
For a director’s own personal money worries, which are separate from the company’s, free help is available too from services such as StepChange, Citizens Advice, National Debtline and MoneyHelper.
A note on what this changes about your loan
Getting free advice does not change the terms of any loan you already have with us; your figures remain as set out on your Key Information Sheet (KIS) and in your Business Loan Agreement. What it can change is your plan for handling them. If you are in difficulty, please also talk to us directly, because we have our own ways to help, and cancelling a payment without telling us does not make a debt go away.
For completeness on the formal side: because we lend to companies for business purposes, this borrowing sits outside FCA consumer-credit regulation under Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001 and is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS. That makes independent, free advice all the more worth knowing about, which is precisely why we signpost it.
The honest summary
We will point you to free, independent help, including Business Debtline on 0800 197 6026, whenever it might serve you better than borrowing, and we are paid nothing to do so. If money is tight, that is not a failure; it is exactly the moment to use free advice. Start with our guide on free, independent debt advice in the UK.
