What to do when you face difficulties.

We understand that many people face financial difficulties at some stage in their lives. But for a few it becomes a real problem. If you’re concerned about debt or meeting repayments, the important thing is not to hide or ignore it.

The earlier you address a potential problem, the sooner you can take action to solve it, reducing stress and potentially saving money in the long run.

How to manage debt:

• Be honest with yourself about your current outgoings
• Stick to budgets that you have set yourself
• Review lifestyle habits that could make a change to your outgoings
• Don’t hide or ignore debt as it will get harder to solve
• It’s good to talk! Talk about your debt with Reto and use the free advice services.

If you have a problem meeting your obligations to Reto you should speak to us as early as possible. We’re here to help.

Dealing with your financial difficulties

• List your Debts/Creditors – Before you can tackle a debt problem it is helpful to work out how much money you owe and how many creditors you owe it to. To do this, you will need to make a list of all the companies you owe money to (your creditors).
• Prioritising your Debts/Creditors – After you have a list of all your creditors, you need to work out which debts are more urgent by splitting your list into priority debts and non-priority debts.
• Understanding your Income vs Outgoings – To get an understanding of where your income is going, completing a budget form will help you get a better understanding of how much you can afford to pay your creditors.

Online budget calculators:

Setting and sticking to a budget is the crucial first step in managing debt. See below our top 3 helpful budgeting tips:

1. Money Advice Service (now part of MoneyHelper)

This service has been integrated into MoneyHelper, which combines the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service, and Pension Wise.
Website: MoneyHelper
Phone: 0800 138 7777 (Mon–Fri, 8am–6pm)
WhatsApp: +44 77 0134 2744
Webchat: Available directly on their website

2. Printable Budget Sheet

The Citizens Advice website still offers printable budget sheets, and there are many other free templates available online.

3. Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

This service is still operational and provides independent, confidential, and impartial advice.
Website: Jersey Citizens Advice
Phone: 0800 735 0249
Email: advice@cab.org.je

4. Guernsey Citizens Advice

This service is active and offers free, friendly, and confidential advice on a variety of topics.
Website: Citizens Advice Guernsey
Phone: 01481 242266
Address: Bridge Avenue, The Bridge, Guernsey

5. Jersey Consumer Council

The Council is active and recently launched a new price comparison website.
Website: Jersey Consumer Council
Phone: 01534 611161
Email: contact@consumercouncil.je
Address: 2nd Floor Salisbury House, 1–9 Union Street, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3RF

General

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
Website: Citizens Advice
Phone (England): 0800 144 8848
Phone (Wales): 0800 702 2020
Service: Still provides free, confidential, impartial information and advice on a wide range of issues.

StepChange Debt Charity
Website: StepChange
Phone: 0800 138 1111
Service: Continues to offer free, confidential debt help and support.

National Debtline
Website: National Debtline
Phone: 0808 808 4000
Service: Provides free debt advice and can send a free debt advice pack.

Advice UK
Website: Advice UK
Phone: 0300 777 0107
Service: Supports free advice providers and can give details of your nearest debt advice centre.

Benefits issues and enquiries

Turn2us
Website: Turn2us
Phone: 0808 802 2000
Service: Helps with benefits calculations and provides support for financial insecurity.

Money Advice Service (now part of MoneyHelper)
Website: MoneyHelper
Phone: 0800 138 7777
Service: Offers tools and information to manage money better.

How to avoid online scams.

At Reto we take your online safety seriously. While we use secure systems and messaging to make our own digital space safe, you should still take some simple measures to protect yourself against fraud online.

Here are a few things to bear in mind:

• Always protect your information, including passwords, account numbers and PIN codes. Legitimate banks won’t request these details by phone or email, so if someone asks you for them, it could be a scam.
• Beware of unsolicited emails. Fraudsters often try to access information by getting you to open attachments or click on links. If in doubt, ignore it. If the email claims to be from Reto, you can phone us to check if it’s legitimate.
• Keep your computer safe with up-to-date anti-virus and firewall software. Avoid letting people you don’t know use your computer, or giving them remote access to your system.