How to balance illness and debt

Anna’s story shows typical situations people find themselves in and how we can help. You’re not alone – we’re here to help you.

Anna’s story

If you’re diagnosed with an illness, it can have a big impact on your daily life and make it harder to keep track of your money.

Anna found staying on top of her finances took a back seat while she adjusted to her change in circumstances.

When her next credit card bill arrived and was much higher than she expected, she felt overwhelmed. Anna was worried that she wouldn’t be able to pay all her monthly bills and didn’t know where to find help.

After putting her weekly food shop on her credit card so she could pay her utility bills, Anna’s brother persuaded her to give us a call.

Anna’s next steps

Anna spoke to us and explained everything, including why she needed help reorganising her finances.

We worked with Anna to create a repayment plan, so she could manage her day-to-day expenses while still making repayments.

We also introduced Anna to the Barclays app¹, to help her keep on top of her finances.

On the app, she found helpful features, like the spending section that showed her exactly where her money is going.

She was also able to add her accounts from other providers, so she could see all her balances and transactions in one place.

We told Anna it would be reported to credit reference agencies before she agreed to the monthly repayment plan, and that it could affect her ability to get credit in the future. For her, entering into the repayment plan was still better than continuing to miss payments.

Contact us

Worried you’ll miss a payment?

Help is always at hand. As soon as you think you might have some financial difficulties, give us a call – it could help make things better.

Have some information about your financial situation ready, before you call, including your income and outgoings. You might be talking for a while – we’ll want to understand your situation in detail, so make sure you set aside some time.

Mortgages – 0333 202 7492 Monday to Thursday, 8am to 8pm, Friday, 8am to 7pm and Saturday, 9am to 4pm

Barclaycard – 0800 051 8346 Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 9pm

Overdraft and Barclayloan – 0333 202 7412 Monday to Thursday, 8am to 8pm, Friday, 8am to 7pm and Saturday, 9am to 4pm

Self-employed or have a business? Get some support

Call charges

Missed a payment and want to catch up?

If you’ve missed a payment on your Barclayloan, overdraft or Barclaycard, you might be able to pay it using the Barclays app¹, – or give us a call.

Overdrafts and Barclayloan – 0345 703 4034 Monday to Thursday, 8am to 8pm, Friday, 8am to 7pm and Saturday, 9am to 4pm

For a mortgage or Barclaycard, please call the relevant number in the section above.