Cost-Of-Living Toolkit

Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) is Scotland’s largest digital advice agency. Our central purpose is to provide impartial and independent advice services to the citizens of Scotland.

Our services are completely free at the point of use; offering reliable, relevant, and practical advice to those who need it the most. The information we provide is always relevant and current, and our advisers undertake extensive training spanning a broad catalogue of topics, such as customer service skills, identifying and responding to customer vulnerability, and the wide variety of social issues impacting our clients.

What can we help you with?

Approximately half a million people across Scotland are not claiming the financial support they are entitled to. You don’t have to be one of them. We’re here to help!

Advice Direct Scotland provide a free benefits checker tool that can help people check what they are entitled to, including Scottish devolved benefits.

advice.scot advisers are available on 0808 800 9060 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm), or by visiting the website.

consumeradvice.scot is Scotland’s national consumer service, offering free, practical and impartial advice and information on a range of consumer-related matters, including issues with online purchases, deliveries, and returns.

Our consumer advisors can:

moneyadvice.scot provide free information and support on a wide range of debt-related issues and are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Our specialist debt advisers can work with you to assess your current situation, look at your income and outgoings, and consider what to do next.

Our specialist debt advisers are available on 0808 196 2316 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm), or by visiting moneyadvice.scot.

Looking for more information on debt-related matters?

What types of debt are there?

What options do we have when it comes to debt solutions?

Looking for anything else? Visit our Knowledge Centre.

energyadvice.scot provide free, practical advice and information on energy-related matters to the citizens of Scotland.

We can provide advice and information if you:

Have an energy enquiry relating to your supplier (no matter how complex)
Are experiencing difficulty in getting through to your supplier’s customer service teams
Wish to understand your energy supplier’s complaints process
Are experiencing any problems with your energy bills

Our specialist advisers are available on 0808 196 8660 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm), or through the website at www.energyadvice.scot.

What can we help you with?

Questions about energy billing, meters, or the price cap? CLICK HERE.
Looking to make a complaint or resolve a dispute with an energy supplier? CLICK HERE.
Need advice about energy grants and other sources of financial assistance? CLICK HERE.
For information on loss of supply, disconnection, or power cuts CLICK HERE.
You will find energy advice for microbusinesses HERE.
Advice on switching energy suppliers can be found HERE.
Advice on energy issues and vulnerable customers can be found HERE.

Scams impact people in Scotland every day, sometimes costing them thousands of pounds.

consumeradvice.scot provides consumer advice to Scottish citizens in partnership with the Scottish Government.

Reporting a scam to us helps us with our work to protect people across the country.

To report a scam CLICK HERE.
For more information on scams and how to avoid them, visit the ‘Scams’ section of our Knowledge Centre.

consumeradvice.scot advisers are available on 0808 164 6000 (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm).