Debt Free Advisers

Debt Free Advice is a London-wide frontline advice team delivered by 18 community-based charities and led by Toynbee Hall. In 2025/26, the team supported more than 12,000 Londoners and secured £24.4 million in financial gains, the highest in its history.

What makes this team distinctive is its unity. Over 100 advisers, based in different organisations across London, operate as a single, coordinated frontline. They share systems, training, and real-time insight, ensuring that a client accessing advice through a prison kiosk receives the same standard of support as someone walking into a community advice centre.

The team works with people at moments of acute crisis, including those facing eviction, enforcement action, poor health, or financial instability linked to life events such as imprisonment or illness. Advisers provide sustained, regulated casework, negotiating with creditors, securing legal protections, and supporting clients through complex debt solutions.

Despite a 15.9% increase in financial gains and sustained demand, the team maintained an average call wait time of just 17 seconds, ensuring that people seeking help are not left waiting at critical moments.

This work is emotionally demanding. The team has built a strong culture of peer support and shared responsibility, ensuring advisers are supported in managing complex and often distressing cases.

Debt Free Advice is a frontline team that combines technical expertise with empathy, consistency, and collective accountability, delivering high-quality support at scale across London.