StepChange Debt Charity, formerly the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS),
is the trading name of the Foundation for Credit Counselling, and is a
debt counselling charity in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The organisation offers free debt advice and money management and can be contacted through its freephone telephone helpline or online through its online debt advice tool. In 2020, around half a million people contacted the charity for help. The charity also campaigns to change policies and practices that trap people in problem debt.
Its current Chair is
John Griffith-Jones
John Guthrie Griffith-Jones (born 11 May 1954) is a British accountant. He was chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority.
Early life
John Griffith-Jones was born on 11 May 1954. He is the son of Mervyn Griffith-Jones and Joan Baker. He was ...
, replacing Sir
Hector Sants
Sir Hector William Hepburn Sants (born 15 December 1955) is a British investment banker. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Authority in July 2007 and stepped down in June 2012. He took up a new position with Ba ...
in January 2019. The Chief Executive of the charity is Phil Andrew, who took over from Mike O'Connor in November 2017.
Services
StepChange provides free debt advice to clients both over the telephone and through their online service. Clients have their financial situation evaluated, and receive a recommendation for one of a range of debt solutions, including Debt Management Plans and insolvency solutions, such as Individual Voluntary Arrangements or Bankruptcies. StepChange provides support for clients throughout the span of their debt solution, including regular revaluations.
Since early 2021 the charity has also provided eligible clients opportunity to enter “Breathing Space”, allowing them to receive 60 days' respite from interest, fees, and court action to reduce stress and give them time to sort out a debt solution.
StepChange Scotland, which operates under the differing Scottish system, provides specific services to Scottish clients. StepChange Scotland is an approved organisation for setting up debt payment plans through the
Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS).
History
The charity was founded in 1993 when Vic Ware OBE and Malcolm Hurlston introduced the Consumer Credit Counselling Service to the UK via a pilot scheme based in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
.
The introduction of debt counselling over the telephone proved to be a success and the charity expanded throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The charity has continued to grow in recent years. In 2007 it established a non-profit
individual voluntary arrangement service and in 2010 launched a free
equity release
Equity release is a means of retaining use of a house or other asset which has capital value, while also obtaining a lump sum or a steady stream of income, using the value of the asset.
Pricing of no negative equity guarantee
The UK Prudenti ...
advice service.
On 5 November 2012 the charity rebranded as StepChange Debt Charity.
In 2017 the charity was contacted by almost 620,000 people seeking debt help and delivered over 357,000 detailed debt advice sessions. By 2019 the number getting in contact had risen to 635,000, but in 2020 the charity saw a reduced number of only 500,000 people getting in touch, which it attributes to the support measures put in place by the British government and credit industry in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The charity's head office is in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
, England. There are also centres in the English municipalities of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
,
Chester, and
Halifax, Scotland's largest city of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, and the Welsh capital of
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. The charity also has an office in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
Policy work
As well as providing advice, the organisation also campaigns for change to reduce the incidence of problem debt, and successfully worked with other charities to influence the Government to introduce a statutory a "Breathing Space" debt respite scheme. Other campaigning work on overdrafts, credit cards, and high cost credit has resulted in policy changes from the
Financial Conduct Authority, and the charity continues to press for the reform of bailiff legislation as part of the Taking Control coalition of charities.
Funding
StepChange Debt Charity is funded mostly by voluntary donations from creditors as well as allocated Government funding through the Money and Pensions Service, and works with over 900 partner organisations. The charity also accepts donations from the general public.
In 2020, the charity received income of £60.6m and had operating costs of £63.4m, including a £3.9m increase in staff costs, reflecting increased colleague number during the year. These costs also reflect the improvements made after a decade, to colleague remuneration and benefits under the charity’s Total Reward strategy.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Organisations based in Leeds
Social welfare charities based in the United Kingdom
Advice organizations