What’s The Debt Respite Scheme Breathing Space?

Effective from 04 May 2021, HM Treasury has created a new scheme to encourage people with ‘problem debt’ to access professional debt advice. The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) gives someone in problem debt the right to legal protection from their creditors on eligible debts, whilst they seek debt advice.

Problem debt is when someone is struggling to repay the money they owe to their creditors (for example, Moneybarn).

We are unable to assess a customer’s eligibility for Breathing Space under the Debt Respite Scheme. You must seek advice from an FCA Authorised Debt Advisor or a Local Authority (if they can provide debt advice to residents) and discuss with them your eligibility for the scheme. A few options available are StepChange, Citizens Advice, and Debt Support Trust to name a few, but you can find more about the support available for people experiencing financial difficulty.

Moneybarn agreements are considered a secured debt, which simply means the debt is for an asset i.e., vehicle finance. Therefore, your chosen FCA Authorised Debt Advisor will only be able to provide you with Breathing Space for arrears on your account, but not for your normal monthly payments. Where you can, please continue to make your monthly payments as failing to do so could negatively impact your credit score. Our Customer Services Team will happily talk you through our support options as where we can we want to be able to keep you in your vehicle.