Man thanks legal charity for solving £41k debt

A man who owed thousands of pounds has said seeking help from a community law service was a "massive release".

Sean Saunders, 47, who lives in Northampton, had debts of more than £41,000 after losing his job, suffering a family bereavement and experiencing anxiety and depression.

But the Community Law Service in Northampton managed to get his debts frozen, and it has urged other people in crisis to come forward.

"I couldn't have coped doing this on my own at that point because of what I was going through," said Saunders.

The law service successfully applied for a debt relief order (DRO).

A DRO is the easiest form of insolvency and is designed for people with few assets on low incomes. If an application is accepted, debts will be frozen for one year, then written off.

"I did feel like the world had come off my shoulders once that was finally complete, so now it's all hopefully onward and upward," added Saunders.

He has been living in temporary accommodation for two years but has recently been able to start bidding on council homes.

For others who might need support he said: "I think anyone who comes in, yes, they're going to feel nervous at first, but within minutes you're going to feel safe and fine."

The chief executive of the charity, Sarah Hayle, said: "Many of our clients have never been in financial difficulty before.

"Some are embarrassed to ask for help but we want to help and all our services are free so we are urging people to get in touch."

Last year, analysis by the BBC revealed that the number of mortgage repossession orders in England and Wales reached 10,853 in 2024-25. This was the highest number in five years.

Experts said the rise was down to a variety of factors, including interest rate increases and the rise in the general cost of living.

Meanwhile, councils in England told the BBC that the number of people presenting as homeless as a result of mortgage repossession had doubled in the space of two years.

Paul Shepherd is a debt advice manager for the charity and said: "I want to see somebody walk out of here knowing what's going to happen and knowing that if they follow our advice, they are going to be either debt free through insolvency or they are going to be entering into an affordable repayment plan that they can actually maintain to bring the debt down."

People often did not seek support until they received a bailiff letter, Shepherd explained, "at which point they've incurred court fees, they've incurred bailiff costs and things".

"And a lot of the time with debt, if you can try and get some advice, perhaps even before you start to fall into difficulties and things, then it can not only make the process a lot less stressful, but it can save money."

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