Deal with your priority debts first Many people owe money to priority creditors. It is important to try and get a payment arrangement agreed with these creditors before moving on to deal with your non-priority debts. This will help to protect you against further action and give you time to look at your debt solutions. Citizens Advice research shows that UK households owe nearly £19 billion to these types of debt. In our experience, creditors like you to get in touch as soon as you can. But it’s never too late to contact them. Contact your priority creditors if you have missed a payment or are worried you can’t afford your next one. Use your latest letter or statement to find their contact details. Remember, your creditors can’t help you if you don’t contact them. Here's what Jack, 43, from Plymouth has to say about following our advice. “Contact people as soon as possible and take control back. So glad I did. It has completely changed my situation. It reduced my stress and helped our family.” Priority creditors usually expect you to pay your normal payment, plus something extra towards the arrears. You will need to send your priority creditors the Summary budget for creditors to show that the offer you are making is reasonable and affordable. See Summary budget for creditors on the next page for more information. If you have more than one priority debt, make sure that you share out the money you have for paying your debts so that you can make an offer to all your priority creditors. Sometimes you will need to make your offer several times. Only increase your offer if it is affordable. If you can’t afford to pay more, do not offer to. If you have difficulty getting a creditor to agree to your offer, contact us for advice. In the meantime, start making the payments you have offered. Read your post Priority creditors can act quickly, but should warn you about what they are going to do. Make sure you read all the letters you get from your creditors. Page 48