The “Debt BUS-ter”, a bright orange mobile advice centre, provided Islington with more than just financial support on its tour of London.
The bus created by Debt Free London (DFL) was parked outside St Luke’s Community Centre on Central Street on 15 March. DFL team members said they have taken on a welfare role as well as offering confidential financial advice.
“People don’t like talking about money issues,” said Kenny Anaedozie, a DFL Debt Advisor at Citizens Advice Islington, who was working on the bus. “We don’t judge people, because there are many reasons why people get into debt.”
“It’s not just because you’re financially reckless, there could also be a case of domestic abuse, emotional abuse, when people find themselves in debt because of their partners or family members who will take advantage of them,” Anaedozie said, “It is a sensitive topic and most people would really rather not talk about it, but if they do, it will help them.”
The DFL team are professional financial advisors, but will direct clients to relevant welfare support if needed. Anaedozie said the bright orange mobile advice centre aims to break the taboo surrounding money problems.
“I’ve had clients who will basically bury their head. It creates a lot of anxiety and then by the time they start getting help and start putting things in perspective, they realise maybe it wasn’t as bad as they thought it was. Just because they chose not to talk about it, it got worse.”
Staff from Debt Free London have noticed a significant increase in those seeking financial help in the last few months. Anaedozie believes this is due to multiple reasons including the rising cost of living, the energy crisis and the end of support schemes from during the pandemic, such as furlough and the Universal Credit £20 uplift.
“To be very honest with you, I’ve not seen a January, February, March this bad,” Anaedozie said. “I joined Citizens Advice in 2011, 2012, and I’ve not seen February this bad. It’s been non stop, non stop.”
“We need more buses. It’s a major crisis that needs more awareness. It’s not something that one agency can do alone.
“I think if you were to really get to the nitty gritty of money issues, you would be really scared to realise the depths of the problem.”
One major problem is a lack of awareness about the financial support available. In the UK, £15 billion of benefits goes unclaimed a year, because people don’t understand whether they’re eligible or not. Naima Islam, another debt advisor aboard the bus, said: “Immigrants, who have come from another country, often have no idea how to apply for council tax support. Even some students have no idea that they can live without [paying] council tax.”
Similarly, the bus team observed that many clients have a poor understanding of their spending. “In some cases, when we complete the financial statement, we find out that the problem is not not having money, it’s actually a budgeting problem,” Anaedozie said, “So it could be someone who is spending £100, £200 pounds on cigarettes. I’ve seen a case where a client spends about £200 every month on coke, the fizzy drink.”
Anaedozie said there are so many solutions to tackling debt, “The list is just endless”. “Seek help, seek advice if you can.” Although, he also cautioned that “there are many, many debt advice agencies who do not have the client’s best interest at heart.”
The bus is on tour until 31 March, where the final stop is St. Pancras and Somers Town, but it is always free to call DFL’s 24-hour advice line on 0800 808 5700.
