How to read what's on this site.

What this disclaimer covers.

This disclaimer applies to everything on therealdebtguy.com, including:

• Articles, guides, and blog posts;
• Videos, podcasts, and social media content published under The Real Debt Guy;
• Letter templates, sample scripts, and worked examples;
• Calculators and free tools (including the Budget Planner);
• Free downloads and printable checklists;
• Posts, comments, and messages inside the TRDG Community.

Our paid services (Letter Audit, Clarity Call, Private Call, Community subscription, and Full Support) have their own scope, deliverables, and refund rules. Those are covered in our Terms of Use. This disclaimer sits alongside the Terms, not instead of them.

Information, not advice.

Everything we publish is general information about how debt works in the UK. It's designed to help you understand what's happening, what your options usually look like, and what a reasonable next step might be.

It is not:

• Regulated debt advice within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. We're not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to give regulated advice. See our Not FCA Regulated page for what that means and where to find regulated help.
• Legal advice. We're not solicitors. Nothing we publish is a substitute for advice from a solicitor about your specific situation.
• Professional tax, accounting, or insolvency advice. Where your situation touches HMRC, bankruptcy, IVAs, or company insolvency, please speak to a qualified accountant or licensed insolvency practitioner.
• Personal advice tailored to your circumstances. We don't know your full financial picture, your creditors' current policies, or the specific details of your case.

Where an article gives an example or a rule of thumb, that's what it is: an example. Your situation may be materially different, and the same rule may not apply.

No client relationship.

Reading an article, watching a video, listening to the podcast, or joining the Community does not create a client, adviser, solicitor, or fiduciary relationship between you and The Real Debt Guy. It doesn't create any duty of care over your financial affairs.

A paid relationship only starts when you buy one of our paid services and we accept the work. What we're obliged to do, when we're obliged to do it by, and how refunds work are all set out in our Terms of Use.

Emailing us a question, commenting on a post, or messaging us on social media doesn't count as instructing us. We may reply as a courtesy, but that reply is still general information.

Time-sensitive information.

UK debt law, creditor practice, court thresholds, statutory interest rates, benefit rules, and FCA guidance change over time. What was true when we published an article may not be true today.

Every article and guide carries a publication date (and where possible an "updated on" date). Please check it before you rely on anything specific:

• Court fees and small-claims thresholds are set by HM Courts & Tribunals Service and change periodically.
• Statutory late-payment interest rates change with the Bank of England base rate.
• Statute of Limitations periods and creditor behaviour rules can be affected by case law and FCA policy statements.
• The eligibility thresholds for Breathing Space, Debt Relief Orders, and other statutory schemes are periodically revised.

If an article is more than 12 months old, treat it as a starting point and verify the specifics against a primary source before acting.

Do your own research.

We do our best to be accurate, cite primary sources where relevant, and update our content when we notice something has moved. But we can't guarantee that every fact, figure, or rule is current at the moment you read it.

Before you act on anything, please verify the specifics against a primary source:

• Court procedure and fees: gov.uk and HMCTS guidance.
• FCA rules and the register of authorised firms: fca.org.uk.
• Statutory interest and late-payment rules: gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery.
• Debt Relief Orders and Breathing Space: gov.uk/apply-for-debt-relief-order.
• Your own credit report: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
• Your specific creditor's current policy: check their published complaints procedure and terms.

If in doubt, err on the side of getting proper help. Small mistakes with debt can compound quickly.

Letter templates and worked examples.

Some of our content includes letter templates, sample scripts, and worked examples showing how to write to a creditor, dispute a charge, or request information under UK consumer law.

These templates are starting points. They are not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Before you send anything:

• Read the whole template. Understand what it says and why.
• Adapt it to your actual facts. Names, dates, reference numbers, amounts, and the specific issue matter.
• Remove anything that doesn't apply to your situation.
• Add anything that's relevant but the template doesn't cover.
• Check the current legal position for anything the template relies on (see Section 4).
• Keep a copy of what you sent and how you sent it.

If you'd rather not do this yourself, our Letter Audit service reviews your specific creditor letter and gives you a written action plan you can act on directly.

Calculators and tools.

We publish free calculators and tools (including the Budget Planner). Any figures they produce are:

• Illustrative only, based entirely on the numbers and choices you enter;
• Rounded and simplified in ways that may not fit every case;
• Not a promise, offer, or guarantee of any particular outcome;
• Not a replacement for personal financial planning.

If a calculator says you can afford £X per month, that's a starting figure to think about, not a rule. Real budgets shift with unexpected costs, changes in income, and priorities that only you can weigh up.

We don't store the figures you enter into our calculators unless the tool explicitly asks you to save them. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle any data you do give us.

Community content.

The TRDG Community is a paid private Facebook group. Members can post questions, share experiences, and reply to each other. Anything a member posts is that member's own view or experience.

• Member posts are not pre-vetted or endorsed by The Real Debt Guy before they go up, though we moderate the group and remove content that breaches the Community rules.
• What worked for one member may not work for you. Every debt situation has different creditors, amounts, dates, and personal circumstances.
• If a member gives you information that looks confident but you're unsure, please treat it as a starting point rather than a decision to act on. Verify against a primary source or ask us directly.
• We reserve the right to remove posts or members who breach the Community rules (see our Terms of Use).

Posts we make ourselves inside the Community are covered by this disclaimer in the same way as anything else we publish: general information, not personal advice.

Third-party content and links.

The site links to third-party websites including government pages, charities, creditor websites, YouTube videos, Spotify episodes, news articles, and industry bodies.

We link to them because we think they're useful. That's not the same as endorsing everything on those sites, and we don't control:

• The accuracy or completeness of what they publish;
• Whether their content stays online, moves, or changes;
• How they handle your data (each has its own privacy policy);
• Advertising or tracking they may run on their pages.

If a linked page contradicts something we've written, don't assume we're right. Check the date, check the source, and if in doubt go to the primary regulator or authority.

When to seek professional help.

The information on this site is a good starting point for most everyday UK debt situations. But there are moments when you need a qualified professional who can look at your specific facts and take responsibility for advising you:

If you're not sure whether your situation needs professional help, that itself is usually a good sign to ask. Our Clarity Call or Private Call can help you figure out whether you're in a "general information" situation or a "get proper help" situation, but we'll always tell you honestly when it's the latter.