How to Ask a Creditor to Freeze Interest and Charges (UK Template Approach)

A reduced payment does little to resolve a debt if interest and charges keep adding more than the payment removes. When you contact a creditor about money difficulties, the interest treatment needs to be part of the discussion.

The strongest request explains what you can afford, why the normal payment is no longer sustainable, and what you want the creditor to change. It does not require a dramatic account of everything that has gone wrong.

Send the creditor a realistic income-and-expenditure summary and ask it to freeze interest and charges while accepting an affordable payment arrangement. Request written confirmation of the amount, start date, review date and credit-file reporting.

Asking does not automatically create a freeze. However, FCA rules go beyond simply hoping for goodwill: where a firm has put a forbearance repayment arrangement in place and the customer meets it, CONC 7.3.5G R requires further interest or charges to be reduced, waived or cancelled sufficiently to prevent the debt rising during that arrangement. That does not necessarily require every interest charge to become zero. FCA CONC 7.3.

This approach is for debts you accept you owe, principally unsecured consumer credit such as credit cards, store cards and personal loans. Mortgages, tax debts, court fines and essential-service arrears can require different arrangements and rules.

If a debt may not be yours, is disputed, or may be statute-barred, get advice before acknowledging it or making a payment. A written acknowledgement or payment can affect limitation or prescription in some circumstances. Start with responding about a potentially statute-barred debt.

List take-home income, essential spending and priority commitments. Allow for costs that arrive less often than monthly, rather than treating a month without an annual bill as spare money.

Then list the unsecured creditors and balances. A free debt adviser can help distribute an available surplus fairly, commonly using a pro-rata approach. National Debtline describes this in its guide to dealing with debts.

For illustration, if £90 is genuinely available for three debts of £1,000, £2,000 and £3,000, a balance-based split would be £15, £30 and £45. It would not be £90 to whichever company called most recently.

If there is no surplus, say so and obtain advice about an appropriate temporary request or longer-term solution. Do not invent an affordable payment to make the letter look more persuasive. Our priority-debts guide explains why the order matters.

This is an original example for an acknowledged debt. Replace the bracketed details and remove anything that does not fit. Keep a copy and use the creditor's verified correspondence address or secure-message system.

Dear Financial Support Team,

Account reference: [reference]

I am experiencing financial difficulty because [brief explanation]. I cannot currently maintain the contractual payments. My attached budget shows what remains after essential spending and priority commitments.

I propose paying [amount] each [month/week] from [date], with a review on [date]. Please freeze interest and charges during the arrangement so these payments can reduce the balance. Please also review charges added since I first told you about my difficulties.

Please confirm your decision in writing, including the payment amount, interest treatment, start and review dates, and how the arrangement will be reported to credit reference agencies. If you cannot accept the proposal, please explain why and what affordable alternative you can offer.

Please contact me by [preferred method].

Yours faithfully,

[Name and date]

If an adviser is helping, include their reference and contact details with their agreement. If you cannot afford any payment, ask the adviser to help adapt the request instead of leaving a payment promise you cannot keep.

Show the arithmetic using the creditor's statement. Suppose you can pay £30 a month, but £45 of interest and charges are added over the same period. With no new spending, the balance rises by £15 despite the payment.

Ask the support team to explain the proposed treatment. For an agreed forbearance repayment arrangement that you are meeting, point to CONC 7.3.5G R and ask how it will prevent the debt increasing. Keep the agreed arrangement and subsequent statements together.

The request for a complete freeze and the regulatory requirement are related but not identical. A creditor might reduce interest enough to stop a balance growing without cancelling every charge. Ask what the agreed treatment means for the balance and how long repayment is expected to take.

An informal debt management plan also needs to be distinguished from a statutory scheme. Its existence does not erase the creditor's regulatory responsibilities or create every protection available under a formal debt solution.

Before treating the matter as settled, check the written response for the payment frequency, amount, reference, first due date and review date. It should explain whether interest is frozen, reduced or still being charged and for how long.

Ask what happens if circumstances change and how the arrangement is reported to credit reference agencies. Reduced payments can affect your credit record even where interest is frozen. A freeze does not remove an existing default or promise a clean payment history.

Review the next statement against the agreement. If the promised change has not appeared, send the relevant dates and figures back to the support team. Keeping the issue specific is more useful than starting the whole request again.

Ask for its reasons and check whether it received the budget. If it has misunderstood an expense or used an outdated income figure, correct that point and request reconsideration.

National Debtline has a separate reconsideration letter for a refusal to freeze interest. Its refused-offers guide explains how to continue negotiating. Take advice on affordable payments while discussions continue; a refusal is not a reason to promise an impossible amount.

If you believe the firm has treated you unfairly or failed to honour an arrangement, make a formal complaint with the budget, agreement and statements attached. An eligible unresolved complaint can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service through its complaints process.

In England and Wales, an eligible person can access statutory Breathing Space through a debt adviser. Standard protection can last up to 60 days and includes restrictions on enforcement and interest on qualifying debts. It is not created by sending this letter and is not a general payment holiday. See the Breathing Space guide.

Scotland has different options. Under the Debt Arrangement Scheme, approval of a debt payment programme freezes relevant interest and charges, which are waived on successful completion; revocation can have different consequences. Our Scottish DAS guide explains the distinction. Northern Ireland also requires advice on its own available solutions.

A sustainable solution matters more than securing a short pause that leaves the same unaffordable debt waiting afterwards. Free advisers can compare the options without requiring you to choose one before contacting them.

Browse the debt guides for related questions. This is general UK information, not personalised debt or legal advice. Free help is available from National Debtline, StepChange and MoneyHelper. Sources checked on 13 September 2026.

• FCA Handbook: CONC 7.3, treatment of customers in financial difficulty
• National Debtline: ways to deal with debts
• National Debtline: reconsider freezing interest
• National Debtline: refused offers
• Financial Ombudsman Service: making a complaint
• Insolvency Service: Breathing Space guidance
• Accountant in Bankruptcy: DAS interest treatment and revocation