StepChange reports 16,076 new debt advice clients in February 2023, up 19% year on year

StepChange Debt Charity advised 16,076 new clients in February 2023, 19% more than the 13,543 it advised in February 2022, according to its monthly client data report published in February 2023¹.

The charity said February 2023 represented the highest proportion of clients citing a "cost of living increase" as their main reason for debt, at 25%¹. Credit cards remained the most common unsecured debt type, at 66% of clients, down from 67% in January 2023¹. The proportion of clients in arrears with dual fuel bills rose from 51% in January to 54% in February 2023¹. StepChange advised more women than a year earlier, at 64% of clients against 62% in February 2022¹.

Website traffic was broadly flat: the charity's site had 344,000 users in February 2023, 1% lower than the 346,000 in February 2022¹.

The figures cover new clients who first received debt advice in the month, so they count people reaching the charity rather than the total number in problem debt¹. Later figures from Which?, published in August 2025, put StepChange's new client numbers at 170,928 in 2024, down from 183,403 the year before, and say the charity highlighted persistent financial pressures on households despite the drop². The two sets of numbers are not directly comparable: the February 2023 report is a single month's intake, while the later figures are full-year totals¹.

Why it matters for households

The February 2023 report describes who was seeking help at a point when cost of living pressures were the most commonly cited reason for debt, at 25% of new clients¹. The rise in dual fuel arrears, from 51% to 54% of clients in a single month, indicates that energy bill debt was reaching the charity's client base at a higher rate than in January¹.

For anyone in problem debt, free advice is available rather than paid-for debt management. StepChange offers advice online and by phone on 0800 138 1111, with lines open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm Saturday; it says the average call takes 40 minutes². National Debtline can be reached on 0808 808 4000, open 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9:30am to 1pm Saturday, and runs a free online service called My Money Steps². Citizens Advice is on 0800 144 8848 in England and 0800 702 2020 in Wales, open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday except public holidays, with Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland offering the same service². Debt Action NI covers each council area in Northern Ireland on 0800 915 4604².

A debt adviser can help people access the government's Breathing Space scheme, which launched in 2021 and gives people in England and Wales who are struggling with problem debt a 60-day period during which interest and charges on their debts are frozen². Advisers may also point people towards solutions such as an individual voluntary arrangement or a debt relief order². In Scotland, the Debt Arrangement Scheme and sequestration are the relevant statutory routes, and advisers use the Common Financial Tool to assess what a household can repay. Where a debt management company is involved, complaints can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service on 0800 023 4567, open 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday².

What happens next

StepChange publishes a monthly client data report; the February 2023 edition is the latest in that series at the time of publication, following the January 2023 report¹. No further dated steps are set out in the material.