Around one in five low to middle-income borrowers believe that seeking independent debt advice will harm their credit score (17%), and nearly a third are unsure of the consequences (30%).
It will not harm a person’s credit score – instead, it is often considered the first step to improving a credit score when an individual is struggling with debt.
Adam Butler, public policy manager at StepChange, pointed out: “While credit scores can help people understand how lenders may see them, the reality is that they are only one element of what lenders look at when assessing creditworthiness.”
StepChange’s research shows that people in financial difficulty often delay seeking help because of worries about the impact on…