Our Beliefs

These are our beliefs - they underpin the way we deliver services to the people that come to us for help.

Our Vision

“To become acknowledged as the leading
provider of free debt advice in the UK”

This is a journey – one that we have already started. It's a journey that's being taken by every employee regardless of where they're located and which area of the charity they work in.

This page describes how we conduct ourselves on this journey. It sets out clearly our service promise and our core values; it describes the commitments we have made to our many stakeholders and our approach to the services we provide people with debt problems. In short, it describes how we will achieve our objectives - with principles.

Our Service Promise

We're a charity and conduct ourselves according to the rules and governing principles of the Charity Commission of England and Wales. These principles are reflected in our service promise.

  • We do not charge for our services. Everything is free, confidential and impartial - from our initial care and debt advice, to our ethical repayment plans and rehabilitation.
  • We strive to make our service accessible to all who need it, through both telephone and Internet access.
  • No matter how serious our client’s situation seems, we provide support and calming through empathy, understanding and emergency assistance, never being judgmental or apportioning blame.
  • Our advice is tailored to the circumstances of the individual, providing as much time as those circumstances need and reference material to help support the individual with the advice we’ve provided.
  • We always suggest appropriate solutions to our client’s debt problems, recommending the best solution available.
  • Where appropriate, we support clients’ repayment of their debts through a sustainable managed plan, asking their creditors to freeze interest, stop penalties, accept a longer repayment period and sometimes a reduced sum.
  • Where such a repayment plan can be set up, we provide aftercare and support to each client through dedicated guidance teams as well as a periodic review of changes in circumstances.
  • We take great care in handling all our clients’ payments, holding the money in a trust account before making their payment to their creditors.
  • We operate in full compliance with the Government’s debt management regulation and uphold the principles of all money advice industry guidelines

Our Values

Our employees hold these values as their own and live them. Our values create our unique culture and drive us in everything we do. They are reflected to the people that come to us for help in the services we provide.

  • Commitment to our clients
  • Honesty and Integrity
  • Valuing each other
  • Teamwork, Collaboration and Accountability
  • Change and Continuous Improvement

Our Ethics

Our reputation is critical to being the UK’s leading debt charity, being valued by the people that need us and trusted by the UK’s financial institutions. The preservation and enhancement of that reputation depends upon our charity operating to the highest standards of ethical conduct.

The principles that govern the behaviour of our charity and employees are reflected in our Code of Ethics, our Values and our Code of Conduct. The combination of these codes provides guidance for employees through the many difficult issues that confront them on a daily basis. Complying with each element of our ethical code will not always be easy but we recognise that we will be judged not just by what is set out as our ethics but on how this is reflected in our day to day activities and the behaviour of us all.

Our Governance

The principles of Governance are set by the Charity Commission of England and Wales as best practice for the way in which charities are led and managed, the structure and role of the board of trustees, relations with stakeholders and the framework of internal control. The board of trustees of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service is committed to proper standards of governance. Our governing document, in the form of memorandum and articles of association, sets out the charity's purposes and how it is to be administered.

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