Economic Abuse: Signs, Financial Support and How to Recover

What is economic abuse? 

Economic abuse is a legally recognised form of domestic abuse and is defined in the Domestic Abuse Act. It is often a crime by an intimate partner or family member, and can involve the control of a relative, partner or ex-partner’s money and finances, as well as the things that money can buy.

Economic abuse can involve identity theft, where an abuser uses a victim's personal information without their consent to obtain goods or services, often for financial gain. This can include taking out loans, opening bank accounts, or using credit cards in the victim's name. Coerced debt, a related form of economic abuse, occurs when an abuser pressures or forces a victim to take out credit or loans. 

How do I know if I am a victim of economic abuse?

If a family member, partner or former partner controls how you access, spend or earn money, you may be experiencing economic abuse.

This information may support you to identify whether you are experiencing economic abuse and to think about the next steps that you might take.

Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) advises that if you can answer ‘yes’ to one or more of the following questions, you may be experiencing economic abuse.

Has your relative, current or former partner ever: 

• stopped you from having the money you needed to buy food, clothes or other essentials, or to pay the bills? 
• dictated how you must spend money?
• insisted you give them receipts or change from any purchases?
• hidden money so you couldn’t find it?
• kept important financial information from you?
• made you ask for money when you needed it?
• stopped you from having a job or going to work, or made it difficult for you to do so?
• forced you to get a credit card or loan?
• made you buy something on credit when you didn’t want to?
• taken out a credit card or loan in your name?
• bought something on your credit card without your knowledge or consent? 
• made you buy things for them or pay their bills when you didn’t want to?
• spent their money however they wanted while your money was used for essentials? 
• stolen things from you?
• put bills in your name so you had to pay them?
• built up debt in your name?
• forced you to give them savings or wages?
• stopped you from having or accessing a bank account?
• made you sign papers without telling you what they were for?
• broken or destroyed your possessions?

Accessing support

Money Advice Plus runs the Financial Support Line for Victims of Domestic Abuse in partnership with Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA). The service provides dedicated support to victim-survivors with their money worries, providing the opportunity to regain financial control and economic stability.

To contact the Financial Support Line for advice and guidance call the freephone number 0808 1968845 between 9am–5pm Monday to Friday. 

Advisers can assist with a range of financial issues. They can help manage debt, including coerced debt, and discuss welfare benefit concerns. They also offer support in creating budgets, address problems with utility companies and other bills, and guide individuals on safely opening new bank accounts or resolving existing banking issues. In cases of severe financial hardship, advisers may be able to signpost or refer clients to apply for small grants.

How to update my credit file 

In the UK there are three main Credit Reference Agencies (credit reference agency’s) who collect and store information about your credit history, for example; payment history, electoral roll information, previous searches, address links or alias’. This information is then used to generate credit reports and scores. Lenders use these reports to assess an individual's creditworthiness when making lending decisions. You can check the information on your credit report by contacting; 

Equifax 

Experian

TransUnion

Credit Reference Agencies get most of the information they hold about you from lenders, service providers, like utility companies, and public sources. While agencies do check for obvious errors, they largely rely on these external organisations to provide accurate information. 

As a victim of economic abuse, you will most likely want to have your credit file updated to reflect this and disassociate yourself from your perpetrator. There are a few ways to update your credit file if you are a victim of economic abuse:

Speak to your creditor - If you have resolved your debt with your creditor, ask them to update your credit file accurately to reflect the circumstances. 

Speak to a credit reference agency to raise a dispute

You can contact the credit reference agencies directly to ask them to investigate information on your credit report that is inaccurate. The credit reference agency will add a ‘Notice of Dispute’ while it is being investigated with the lender. This takes no longer than 28 days and you will be informed of the outcome. Updates can only be made if the lender agrees to do so. 

Notice of Correction - This can be added to your Equifax credit report to explain accurate information that requires further context, such as a missed payment. A ‘Notice of Correction’  ensures a manual review of your credit file, rather than an automated decision, potentially delaying lending decisions. The note must be factual, relevant, and under 200 words, avoiding defamatory, frivolous, or scandalous content. You can add a Notice of Correction via your Online Help account on Equifax, and you may contact other credit reference agencies to add similar notes to your reports with them.

Notice of Disassociation - You can remove historic financial connections to another person as these can affect future applications you make for credit. You can do this by sending each agency a ‘Notice of disassociation’ (this can be an email or letter and be sure to include your and the other person’s full details including name, date of birth and addresses). This can usually only be done once you no longer have any active joint financial accounts with that person.

Where to get support

Here is a list of confidential support to help you safely consider your options:

National Domestic Abuse Helpline - 0808 2000 247

Women’s Aid local services

Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) 

Money Advice Plus - 0808 1968845 

StepChange