There are important things to do if you find yourself in a position where you can no longer maintain repayments on any loans or credits.

I have written separately on the moment of panic, and I just would remind you not to make any decisions when you are panicking.

When the panic is over you need to assess your position with some care. Remember there is going to be some difference between what you think about the situation and what your creditor thinks. So you need a good argument and facts to support it.

Working out how you come to be in this situation is probably the most useful first step. Some people get to it by being reckless; others may find that they are landed with debts from the actions of others.

In between is where most of us are. Perhaps it is our own action, perhaps bad luck. Perhaps we thought the income would quickly follow from a business idea. Perhaps it is the onset of bad health, or a diagnosis of some sort.

Whatever the reason—though it is important to understand it—we are where we are, now.

And now you will be ready to prepare to contact your creditor, whether one or more. And preparation will take a bit of time.

And the first thing to do is to hit those search engines.

'Debt', 'debt problems', debt default', 'debt help' are just some of the search terms you might use. And read. Just read.

That's right, just read. Don't click on any 'we can help' buttons, or any that say how they can take the pain away, or how simple it is to have a debt plan or how much you can get your debt reduced.

Until you have spent at least four hours solidly reading all the advice and comments you come across you will know too little to make any decision or any commitment.

And I would caution against any commitment for some time yet, anyway.

But you should be armed with a lot of questions you can't find answers to. At that point it is worth phoning one of the charities and asking those questions.

Then it is time for a breather so you can take in all you have learned, and time to take a break of maybe a day.