Read about people's experiences

All quotes are taken from survey respondents or focus group participants.

"The stress of being in debt and letters from various companies caused a relapse of my illness and I ended up in hospital."

"When you're in that stage of recovery the burden that you have to carry with all this debt and all these problems it just makes your depression worse. There doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel and you just get more and more trapped in this poverty situation."

"I was threatened with disconnection of my gas and electricity supply, my council tax bill was passed to bailiffs and I was threatened with eviction."

"I had to sacrifice other bills to pay the water bill."

"I had a letter to say that if I didn't pay the bill the bailiffs would be coming to my home, my key worker rang to explain my situation and set up a direct debit to pay the bill and I was told if I defaulted on the payment the bailiffs would be in contact with me."

"The letters just keep coming every day, final demands and reminders...court action...bailiffs...some days I just can't cope with it so I don't even open my mail."

"I'm living but it's not a good living, I don't eat, I have to come to City and Hackney Mind to buy food."

"It's horrible and it is the stuff that you need that goes, food does go. You live on a Supermarket Value diet, you're living out of the reduced counters."

"We were living off credit cards to pay bills and buy food."

"I owed £11,000 and I went into the bank and said can I reduce the repayment I make each month, it ended up with her offering me more money to reduce the repayment and I wasn't particularly well at the time so now I have more debt…So now I don't have cards and my son comes with me to the bank."

Tell us about your experiences
If you would like to share your experiences of debt and any problems with your bank, gas or electric supplier or with bailiffs that have happened to you in the past six months, please tell us your story here.