We know a lot about arrears, debt, possession hearings, evictions, landlords and feeling bad.

We know this through bitter personal experience (unfortunately) and through talking to many, many people with these issues, by working in court and by dealing with debt.

So we are experts in this field. We probably know too much.

You may find that you are too close to your problem. And because you are emotionally involved, you cannot think straight.

I remember feeling really upset when I was in debt and the phone kept ringing constantly. I assumed it was debt collectors so I did not answer. A friend called by and wondered why I freaked when the phone rang.

'Because they've been calling all morning,' I told him.

So he did a 1471 on the number and called it back. Turned out it was a fax machine. So he found out who the company was and told them their fax machine had been calling me all day. 'Oh sorry, they said, ‘our mistake.’

So I had got myself into a state for nothing. My 'expert' friend had sorted it out for me. Could you do with an expert?

Call  CAB, National Debtline, Business Debtline, Payplan or any agency which offers free debt advice.