Get help with budget and debt issues
Få hjälp med skuldrådgivning - Engelska
Nearly 400,000 Swedes have debts at the Swedish Enforcement Authority. In addition to them, many struggle with their finances. Besides personal suffering, the excess indebtedness costs society SEK 30-50 billion every year. The positive thing is that help is available.
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This is what you can get help with:
Anyone in debt can get help free-of-charge from a municipal budget and debt counsellor. They can help you to:
Get a grasp of your finances and provide advice on how you should handle and prioritize the debts.
Apply for debt restructuring.
Provide other support before, during and after a debt restructuring.
Prepare suggestions of voluntary agreements with the creditors, that is to say the people you owe money (if you do not receive or want debt restructuring).
Discuss better terms with those you owe money to.
Getting help does not cost anything
By law, municipalities are obligated to provide financial counselling to people in debt. Getting help does not cost anything. A budget and debt counsellor can help look over your finances and can give practical advice to anyone in debt. People in need of debt restructuring can, among other things, get help with the application, as well as the processes of decision reconsideration and appeal.
Contact information for your budget and debt counselling service
To contact your local budget and debt counselling service, you can contact your municipality. You can also follow the link below to find a list of all municipalities and contact information for their budget and debt counselling services.
See the list of budget and debt counselling services by municipality
While waiting for help
Many municipalities have waiting times to meet a budget and debt counsellor. Until you receive personal help, you need to prioritize among your bills if you cannot pay them all. What is most important to pay is rent, electricity and home insurance firstly. Otherwise, you risk being evicted, having your power turned off or not getting help if you have an accident. Fees to your unemployment insurance fund and childcare fees are also important.
If you do not get the help you need
If the municipality does not have a budget and debt counselling service or if you do not get the help you are entitled to, you can send in a report to the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO). This can be done either with a physical form or through an e-service. The report becomes an official document when it is received by the IVO.
Source: Konsumentverket
Proofread: 22 February 2022