We are on a mission to help everybody improve their financial wellbeing.

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We are here to help solve your money worries with free, independent advice and ongoing support.
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Why choose Money Wellness

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Our free expert debt advisors have helped thousands of people in a similar situation to you. We'll listen and do not judge - we're here to help.

Impacted by the cost of living crisis?

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We are here to help you sort your financial problems however big or small.
From budgeting help, to money-saving tips and solutions that could make your borrowing more manageable.
We offer free help and support to help you take control of your financial situation, and achieve your financial goals.

What our customers say about us...

Excellent service and extremely polite!

Stress free process

Friendly and helpful

Changed my life for the better! 

Real people, real stories find out what our customers have to say about our platinum rated service.

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What are energy scams?

The cost-of-living crisis has provided numerous opportunities for scammers to take advantage of people worried about money. Energy scams come in many different forms, but they generally involve trying to trick you into handing over money or personal details. Scammers often try to con people by promising grants, cheap energy, or ways to improve energy efficiency.

How scammers are likely to approach you

Scammers approach their targets in various ways. They might:
<ul>
<li>text you</li>
<li>call you</li>
<li>email you</li>
<li>knock at your door</li>
<li>get in touch via social media</li>
<li>use a website pop-up</li>
</ul>

What to look out for

A lot of scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated so it&rsquo;s important to stay vigilant. It&rsquo;s not always easy to spot a scam but there are a few tell-tale signs that may suggest you&rsquo;re being targeted by con artists. So, stop and think twice if:
<ul>
<li>you feel under pressure to pay quickly or in an unusual way</li>
<li>you&rsquo;re being asked for pin numbers or passwords</li>
<li>something seems too good to be true</li>
</ul>

Common energy scams

Fraudsters are constantly coming up with new scams, so we can&rsquo;t provide a comprehensive list. However, there are some common scams doing the rounds that you should be aware of.
Ofgem scams
Someone claiming to be from the energy regulator Ofgem may contact you asking you for certain personal information or to change your bank details so that you can get a grant or cheap energy. Remember, Ofgem won&rsquo;t:
<ul>
<li>ask you for bank details or personal information</li>
<li>sell you energy</li>
<li>come to your house</li>
</ul>
Energy bills discount scam
There is another scam doing the rounds that centres on the government&rsquo;s &pound;400 energy bill discount scheme. Targets are sent an email or a text message inviting them to apply for the discount. They are then instructed to follow a link to a fake Ofgem website where they are asked to set up a Direct Debit in order to get the money. In actual fact, all payments that make up the &pound;400 discount are automatic and you don&rsquo;t need to apply.
Green scams
You may be approached by scammers trying to get you to sign up for fake energy-efficiency schemes. In one such con, people have reported being offered the green homes grant, which came to an end in 2021.
Fake refund scams
Another common scam involves getting a text or email that appears to be from your energy supplier and says you are due a refund. You are then instructed to follow a link to a form that asks for personal information including your bank details. Your energy supplier will never ask you to provide information in this way, so you can be sure emails and text messages like this are being sent by fraudsters.
Debt collection scams
Scammers have also taken advantage of the collapse of some smaller energy companies over recent years. They contact the customers of collapsed suppliers posing as debt recovery firms. Targets of the scam are told they have an outstanding balance that needs to be paid. This scam can be very convincing as the fraudsters involved know their target's names and their previous energy supplier.
It's useful to be aware that if your energy supplier goes out of business, it will be taken over by an Ofgem-appointed company. You should check any request for payment with that company before handing over any money.
Energy-saving device scam
One particularly worrying scam involves an online advert for an energy-saving device. The piece of tech involved, which looks like a plug, goes by various names, including Voltbox, Voltex and Motex. According to the advert, the product can cut a &pound;251 monthly bill to just &pound;15. There is no evidence the device actually works and, more worryingly than that, it doesn&rsquo;t even pass the Which? basic safety test so could cause fires or electric shocks.
Meter key scams
This scam targets people with prepayment meters. The fraudsters clone meter keys with credit on them and sell them door-to-door at a drastically reduced price. Once an energy supplier realises you&rsquo;re not actually paying them for your energy, you end up paying again at the full price.

What to do if a scammer targets you

If you suspect someone may be trying to con you before you hand over any money or personal information, you can <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/">contact Citizens Advice for help</a>.
If you&rsquo;ve made a payment or given away any personal information, you should talk to your bank or card company as soon as possible. Citizens Advice also provide a <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/reporting-a-scam/">list of the organisations you should report scams to</a>.

What genuine support is available?

If you&rsquo;re struggling to pay your energy bill, there may be financial support available. See our guide <a href="https://www.moneywellness.com/blog/rising-energy-prices-what-support-is-there">Rising energy prices: what support is there?</a>

Energy scams - how to avoid getting tricked

The word scam spelt out in red on wooden blocks with other wooden blocks with letters on them scattered nearby

A guide on the most common energy scams in the UK and what to do if you're targeted by fraudsters.

As gas and electricity bills soar, the number of energy scams has also rocketed. Research by Citizens Advice shows more than 40 million people were targeted by scammers last year and 12% of the cons were energy related. So, how do you spot an energy scam and what should you do if you&rsquo;re targeted?

What is SMI?

Support for mortgage interest (SMI) is a government loan to help you pay the interest on your mortgage.
You will need to repay the loan when you die, sell your home or give it to someone else. For example, if you were to pass your home onto one of your children while still living there.

Can I get SMI?

To get SMI, you need to be on one of these benefits:
<ul>
<li>universal credit</li>
<li>income-based jobseeker&rsquo;s allowance (JSA)</li>
<li>income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)</li>
<li>income support</li>
<li>pension credit</li>
</ul>
You won&rsquo;t be able to get SMI if you&rsquo;re on universal credit and you&rsquo;re earning any money from work.

What will I get?

You will get the interest paid on up to &pound;200,000 of your mortgage (up to &pound;100,000 if you&rsquo;re on pension credit). The government won&rsquo;t help to repay your mortgage capital (the amount you originally borrowed).
A standard interest rate is used to work out the amount you&rsquo;ll be paid. This rate is variable, so it can go up and down. The interest rate used may be different to the interest rate on your mortgage.
Payments are generally made straight to your mortgage lender.
You can get SMI for as long as you need it, providing you continue to meet the eligibility criteria.

When will my payments start?

When your payments start depends on the benefits you&rsquo;re getting:
JSA, ESA or income support &ndash; you can usually get SMI from 39 weeks after you claimed JSA, ESA or income support.
Universal credit &ndash; you can usually get SMI nine months after you claimed universal credit. This is being reduced to three months from 1 April 2023.
Pension credit &ndash; you can usually get SMI straight away.

Will it affect my benefits or credit score?

An SMI loan doesn&rsquo;t affect the benefits you get or your credit score.

How to apply

When you apply for one of the benefits listed above, you&rsquo;ll be asked some extra questions to see if you&rsquo;re eligible for SMI. If you qualify, you&rsquo;ll be offered a loan automatically.
If you turn down the offer, you can change your mind at any time. The payments will be backdated to when you were first eligible for the loan.
If you&rsquo;ve changed your mind about turning down a loan, or you think you should have been offered a loan and you weren&rsquo;t, contact the office that pays your benefit. You can <a href="https://www.gov.uk/support-for-mortgage-interest/how-to-apply">find contact details on the government&rsquo;s website</a>.

Support for mortgage interest

Stacks of coins with a model house sitting on top of one of the stacks

A guide to support for mortgage interest, including what it is, who can get it, how much you'll get, whether it will affect your benefits or credit score, and how to apply.

If you&rsquo;re on benefits and you can&rsquo;t afford your mortgage payments, you may be able to get a government loan to help you pay the interest.

Try to agree an arrangement for your arrears

If trying to repay your energy bill arrears is making your financial situation worse, you should speak to your supplier to see if you can agree a payment arrangement. We can help you with an income &amp; expenditure statement that will show them how much you can afford to pay. If your supplier can see you&rsquo;re actively looking to resolve the situation and are willing to make regular, affordable payments, they may be less inclined to go down the prepayment route.

Make part payments

Even if you can&rsquo;t afford to pay the full amount you&rsquo;re being asked for each month, it&rsquo;s a good idea to pay something if you can. Making a part payment suggests that you&rsquo;re doing your best and, again, may make your supplier less likely to try and move you to prepayment.

Pay less towards your other debts

Your energy bills are one of your priority debts. This means they should be paid ahead of non-priority debts such as unsecured loans and credit cards. If you need free advice on how to deal with your different debts, we&rsquo;d be happy to help.

Make sure your Direct Debit is reasonable

If you think your Direct Debit is too high, you should ask your supplier to explain how they&rsquo;ve calculated the amount they want you to pay. If it&rsquo;s obviously wrong &ndash; for example if they&rsquo;re basing it on a previous tenant who used much more energy than you &ndash; you can ask your supplier to change the amount.

Find out if you’re entitled to any benefits

The &pound;400 all households received to help with their energy bills over the winter of 2022-23 is likely to be a one-off. Moving forward, most of the help for rising energy costs will go to people on benefits. So, it makes sense to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators">use the government&rsquo;s benefits calculators</a> to check if you&rsquo;re one of the millions of people in the UK who aren&rsquo;t claiming the help they&rsquo;re entitled to.

Check if you’re classed as vulnerable

Energy suppliers are required to offer additional support to people who are classed as vulnerable and, although this won&rsquo;t necessarily stop them trying to move you to prepayment, it may make them think twice. This is because Ofgem says a customer shouldn&rsquo;t be moved to prepayment without a proper assessment &lsquo;including identifying any vulnerability&rsquo;. And there are lots of reasons you may be considered vulnerable that aren&rsquo;t necessarily obvious. For example, being pregnant/having young children or being over state pension age. You can <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/getting-extra-help-priority-services-register">find more information from Ofgem on who is considered vulnerable and what to do it you are</a>.

Don’t get a smart meter

Once you have a smart meter, your supplier can change its settings so that it works on a prepayment basis without anyone having to come into your home, and without your agreement. So, if you don&rsquo;t want to move to prepayment, don&rsquo;t get a smart meter.

Know your rights

There are a variety of reasons an energy company isn&rsquo;t allowed to move you onto prepayment. You can refuse if:
<ul>
<li>A disability or an illness would put you at risk of harm if your energy supply was cut off</li>
<li>You couldn&rsquo;t get to your meter</li>
<li>You couldn&rsquo;t top up your meter &ndash; either because you couldn&rsquo;t afford to, or you couldn&rsquo;t get to a shop</li>
<li>You don&rsquo;t agree that you owe your supplier the money they&rsquo;ve asked for and you&rsquo;ve told them this e.g. if it&rsquo;s a previous tenant&rsquo;s debt</li>
<li>They haven&rsquo;t offered you other ways to pay off your debt e.g. a repayment plan</li>
<li>They don&rsquo;t give you seven days' notice before coming to your home to install a prepayment meter&nbsp;</li>
<li>You haven&rsquo;t been given at least 28 days to repay your debt before they write to you to say they want to move you onto prepayment</li>
</ul>
If any of these situations apply to you, you should let your supplier know. If they still want to move you to prepayment, you should complain.
However, you should be aware that if none of the situations apply to you, your supplier can force you to move to prepayment. If you refuse, they can install a meter forcibly by getting a warrant to enter your home or they can change your smart meter to the prepayment setting remotely. If they get a warrant, they&rsquo;ll add this cost (up to &pound;150) to your debt.

Use less energy

You can also try to make your energy bills more affordable by reducing the amount of gas and electricity you use. For a wide range of tips on how to do this, <a href="https://www.moneywellness.com/blog/50-energy-saving-tips-to-help-you-cut-costs">read our blog on 50 ways to save energy</a>.

What to do if your energy supplier is trying to move you to prepayment

Close up of hand putting card into energy prepayment meter

A guide on the steps you can take to try and prevent your energy supplier from moving you to prepayment

On 22 January 2023, the government called on energy suppliers to stop forcing customers over to prepayment without taking every possible step to help them with their money difficulties first. This follows reports that the number of customers being moved to prepayment has risen dramatically during the cost-of-living crisis and that courts are being overwhelmed with applications for warrants to forcibly enter people&rsquo;s homes and install prepayment meters.
Despite the government&rsquo;s crackdown, if you have energy bill arrears, your supplier may still try to move you to prepayment. As paying for your energy this way generally costs more, it makes sense to avoid it happening if you can.
In this guide, we look at what you should do if your energy supplier is trying to move you to prepayment.

What to do if your energy supplier is trying to move you to prepayment 

Step 1 – check your credit history is accurate

Your credit history goes back 72 months (six years), and it records every time you make a repayment on time &ndash; or every time you don&rsquo;t. It updates every month, so each month some information drops off and new information is added.
Lenders check your credit history when you apply to borrow. Your credit score, or credit rating, is a number provided by the three credit reference agencies to show how your credit history looks to lenders.
You can check your credit history for free at the following places:
<ul>
<li>Equifax via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.clearscore.com/">Clearscore</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html">Experian</a></li>
<li>TransUnion (which was CallCredit) via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.creditkarma.co.uk/">Credit Karma</a></li>
</ul>
Checking your report has no effect on your credit score.
It is a good idea to check all three credit reference agencies to ensure that the details they hold are correct. They may not all hold the same information about you. If any details are wrong, you can ask the agencies to correct the inaccuracies. For example, if your credit report states that you have a 'financial association&rsquo; with someone you&rsquo;re no longer linked to, you can submit a &lsquo;notice of disassociation&rsquo;. You can find details of how to make these corrections on the credit reference agencies&rsquo; websites.

Step 2 – deal with your debts

People sometimes tell us they&rsquo;re worried that beginning a debt solution will have a negative impact on their credit score. And they're right, to some extent. Insolvency solutions are recorded on your credit report for at least six years from the date they start. These include bankruptcy, debt relief orders and individual voluntary arrangements.
Debt management plans (DMPs) aren&rsquo;t directly recorded on your credit report. However, as you don't repay your debts as originally agreed when you're on a DMP, lenders are likely to send you notices of default. Defaults are recorded on your credit report for six years, so this will have a negative effect on your credit score.
But let&rsquo;s look at the big picture. Are you struggling to keep up with your financial commitments? Maybe you&rsquo;re missing payments on loans or credit cards, or even your everyday bills. This will damage your credit score anyway, not to mention your peace of mind. If your lenders issue defaults or even county court judgments against you, these will be recorded on your credit report. What&rsquo;s more, struggling with money worries can have an impact on your mental health, your relationships and other areas of your life. We think that&rsquo;s why our customers say the impact of a debt solution on their credit score is worth it in the long run.&nbsp;

Step 3 – rebuild

Once your debts are sorted, you&rsquo;ll have an opportunity to start rebuilding your credit history. What&rsquo;s more, you&rsquo;re likely to have developed strong budgeting skills during your debt solution. That means your credit report will begin to show that you&rsquo;re managing your bank account responsibly. And even more importantly, all your essential payments are being made on time.
You can boost your credit score further by registering to vote and making sure that your bank accounts etc. are all registered at your current address. You can also try some or all of the tips below&hellip;
Rebuild by paying your bills on time
Prioritise paying all your bills in full and on time. This will show potential lenders that they can trust you with their money.
If you&rsquo;re renting your home, you may be able to boost your credit score simply by paying your rent promptly. This may be an option for both private tenants and social tenants. Schemes you can use to do this include <a href="https://www.experian.co.uk/business/consumer-information/consumer-credit-management/rental-exchange/tenant-information/">The Rental Exchange</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.creditladder.co.uk/tenants">CreditLadder</a>. Sign up to one of these and make your full rent payments on time every week or month as usual. These rental payments will then be reflected in your credit score.
Some utilities providers also pass on information to the credit reference agencies. Ask your providers if they do this. If they do, the credit reference agencies will know whether and when you make your payments. This will help rebuild your credit score if you stay up to date.
But remember, this works both ways. Any missed or incomplete payments will have a negative impact on your credit score.
Rebuild by saving
<a href="https://www.loqbox.co.uk/how-it-works">LOQBOX</a> offer a kind of regular savings account. LOQBOX treat the payments you make into the account as repayments on a loan. They then report these payments to the credit reference agencies. According to LOQBOX, making your agreed payment in full and on time each month should start to boost your credit score after around four months.
Rebuild by borrowing - carefully
If you&rsquo;re confident in your ability to manage credit carefully without getting into difficulties again, you could consider taking out a credit card (but only once you have completed your debt solution). A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/credit-and-debit-cards-a-quick-guide#credit-builder-cards">credit builder credit card</a>, for example, could help rebuild your credit score as long as you:
<ul>
<li>keep the balance low (less than half of the credit limit)</li>
<li>pay the full balance each month, so you never have to pay the interest. Credit builder cards tend to come with a high interest rate</li>
<li>remember to pay on time. As with any credit card, you will damage your credit score if you don&rsquo;t manage to make at least the minimum payment by the due date</li>
</ul>
Don&rsquo;t forget that your credit report includes a record of all your applications for credit. So if you try to take out a credit card and you&rsquo;re turned down, this could suggest to lenders that you&rsquo;re struggling financially, which will make them less likely to want to lend to you. The same applies if you make a lot of credit applications very quickly. So, apply for credit sensibly. Do your research and try to only apply for cards and loans for&nbsp; which you stand a reasonable chance of being accepted.

How can I improve my credit score?

Two people checking their credit score on a mobile phone.

How to clean up your credit history and boost your credit score so you can get closer to your financial goals.

A poor credit score can affect your life in several ways. You may find it more difficult &ndash; and/or more expensive &ndash; to get a mortgage, buy a car or even take out a mobile phone contract. Cleaning up your credit history and boosting your score can get you closer to your financial goals. We&rsquo;ve put together a step-by-step guide to doing just that.

Getting started

Open our budget planner
Back in the day, budgeting generally involved a pen and paper and lots of scribbling out. Hopefully, <a href="https://www.moneywellness.com/tools/budget-planner" rel="follow">our budget planner</a> should make your life a bit easier when it comes to getting your finances in order.
Set aside some time
We won&rsquo;t lie to you, creating your budget can be a bit of a faff. But it&rsquo;s well worth it &ndash; and once you&rsquo;ve done it then it&rsquo;s much easier and quicker to keep it up to date.&nbsp; Set aside an hour or two and start by getting some paperwork together.&nbsp; You&rsquo;ll want some recent bank statements (or just log in online), recent payslips and benefit awards. If you can find them, dig out other recent bills too like gas, electricity, water, car insurance, home insurance and so on.
Be honest with yourself
A budget isn&rsquo;t about what you&rsquo;d like your income and spending to be &ndash; it's about what it actually is now. So write down what you actually spend and, if anything, err on the side of overstating your spending!
Work out where your cash goes
If you withdraw cash to spend, then you might want to understand where that goes too.&nbsp; Keep a spending diary for a week or two: jot down all the cash you use in a notebook or on your phone and add that into your budget.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>

Incomings and outgoings

The first thing to do when creating a budget is to identify how much money you have coming in. This can include anything from a salary to benefit payments, pensions or child maintenance.
Once you&rsquo;ve calculated your net income, then move on to your outgoings, such as mortgage/ rent, utility bills, car finance, debt payments, phone bill, childcare costs and so on.
Small, irregular payments can be easy to ignore. Whether it&rsquo;s a television subscription or morning coffees, seemingly insignificant purchases can amount to a lot. Taking note of these expenses can help you create a holistic picture of what you really spend each month and how to manage it. Once you&rsquo;ve done this, add it to your total outgoings and move to the next step.
Don&rsquo;t forget occasional costs
One of the biggest budgeting pitfalls is to forget the costs that only come up from time to time. This could include birthday and Christmas presents (and other costs), and other one-off spends. We&rsquo;d suggest splitting the cost of these across 12 months to make sure that you allow for them in your budget. For this to work, you&rsquo;ll need to put that money aside each month though.

What’s your magic number?

Once you&rsquo;ve completed your budget you can work out your &lsquo;magic number&rsquo; &ndash; that&rsquo;s your income minus your outgoings. There are three possible outcomes:
Your income is higher than your outgoings
This is the best possible result. If you aren&rsquo;t already, you should certainly start saving.&nbsp; Remember, it can still be worth reviewing what you spend to see if you can create more money to save each month.
Your income is equal to your outgoings
Again a good result - now&rsquo;s the time to review your spending to see if you can trim your outgoings to free up some money to start saving.
Your income is lower than your outgoings
Unfortunately, you can&rsquo;t go on like this without borrowing money and digging yourself into a deeper financial hole.&nbsp; It's time to take urgent action to review your spending and make some changes. The first place to start is categorising your outgoings and marking which are priority bills/spending and which aren't.
<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

Keep your budget updated

Well done for getting this far.
Budgeting isn&rsquo;t a one-off exercise though, it is an ongoing discipline.&nbsp; For example, if your council tax comes through and it's gone up &pound;10 a month, be sure to update your budget. You may need to find savings elsewhere to keep your budget balanced. Similarly, if you switch to a cheaper home insurance provider and save &pound;20 a month, then update your budget and try and save the money you&rsquo;ve freed up.

How to create a budget

Man sitting at a desk in front of a laptop jotting things down on a pad of paper

Improve your financial wellbeing by identifying how much money you have coming in and what you're spending it on.

Budgeting is the first crucial step toward financial wellness.&nbsp; Creating a budget will help you understand what you&rsquo;ve got coming in each month and where it goes.&nbsp; It will help you<a href="https://www.financialwellnessgroup.co.uk/blog/prioritising-your-spending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> prioritise your spending</a> and identify where you could make savings.
Whether you&rsquo;re struggling to cover your bills each month, or just want to save a little extra cash, building a strong budget and following it can benefit everyone - no matter what your situation is.

Whether you&rsquo;re after hints and tips or information regarding debt, we have all the information you&rsquo;ll need in one place.
Click the links below.