Making sure it’s Business Debtline

Over the past few months, there has been an increase of debt-advice related scams in the UK.
We want you to feel confident that when you contact our advisers, you are speaking to the right people and not someone trying to impersonate us.
There are two ways you can contact us.

Webchat on our website www.businessdebtline.org
We’re open: Monday to Friday 9am-8pm
Things you should look out for
We will never contact you first. If you haven’t contacted Business Debtline, our advisers will never:

• cold call you on your mobile or landline;
• send you an email; or contact you on WhatsApp.
• Don’t engage with someone who contacts you in any of these ways. If you receive a cold call, hang up and block the number.
• Do not respond to emails or open any links within them.
• You should block WhatsApp messages.

We may respond to comments or messages on our Facebook page, but our advisers do not give debt advice on Facebook.
We will never ask you to pay for our debt advice service – everything we do is free.
If you need to check in with us, the quickest way is on our website with Webchat. You will be in touch with a real person.
You can also call us free on 0800 197 6026.

Sharing your data
You should never share confidential data (bank accounts, national insurance numbers, etc.) with anyone who calls you if you haven’t called them first.

If you receive an email or a link to a website
Check the email or website address very carefully for misspellings or additions to the letters at the end of the address.
Our website address is www.businessdebtline.org
We do not use similar addresses, for example:
www.businessdebtsline.org
www.businessdebtline.org.uk
www.businessdebthelpline.org
Any email you receive claiming to be from us that comes from an outlook.com, or gmail.com account will not have been sent by us. . Ignore the email and do not open any links within it.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs)
If you’ve been contacted by someone claiming to be from Business Debtline about an IVA, then it’s highly likely that this is a scam.
To find out more about IVAs, read our in-depth guide .

Checking and verifying details with external organisations
If you’re still unsure about who you are dealing with there are a number of official websites that you can check for more information.

Charity Commission
The Money Advice Trust, which runs Business Debtline, is a registered charity. Our registration number is 1099506.
You can check if any company is a registered charity on the Charity Commission website.

Are they authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)?
The Money Advice Trust, which runs Business Debtline, is registered and authorised by the FCA to give debt advice. Our authorisation number is 618928.
If you are getting advice from another organisation, check the FCA register to see if they are on there.

The FCA also issues warnings about clone firms
Clone firms are fraudsters who copy the details of FCA authorised firms to try and convince people that their firm is genuine.
You can check the FCA news page to see if the company appears in the warnings list. They have already issued a warning about a firm pretending to be National Debtline. Be cautious as some companies have even tried to imitate our adverts including using the exact same words and similar branding.