How do individuals benefit from debt advice?
Detailed research on the impact of debt advice was published in 2007 by the Legal Services Research Centre, entitled A Helping Hand: the Impact of Debt Advice on People’s Lives.23 The research “provided clear evidence of a positive impact of debt advice.” The research found that financial improvement is greater when advice is given than when no advice is given at all. 70% of clients felt they had made headway against their debt at a twelvemonth follow up. 33% stated that they owed a lot less; in fact, a year after receiving advice, clients owed, on average, £7,585 less.24 Clients’ financial situations were also found to have improved through better budgeting and improved negotiations with creditors. There was also evidence that advice improves people’s understanding of their personal finances and, seemingly, helps them to better target ‘priority’ debts. At a twelve-month follow up, more than 50% of clients in the advice agency study (one of the four strands of research undertaken by th
