Cookie notice
This site stores a few things in your browser to make the questions and the budget planner work. Others show us how people use the site and which of our adverts work. We only set those if you say yes.
Last updated: 15 October 2026
On this page
What this site stores
We set these ourselves, and no other company can read them. Each one is needed to do something you’ve asked the site to do, so they count as strictly necessary and we don’t ask for your consent first. The site also stores your answer to our cookie question, so it doesn’t ask you again.
help-with-debt-get-help
- Where
- A cookie, used only on the questions at /get-help.
- What it does
- Remembers your answers to the questions (how much you owe, how many debts, where you live, what kinds, your overdraft, your income, your spending, your work status, and the last two questions about missed payments and how you feel), so you keep them if you go back, reload the page or return later. It never holds your name, mobile number or email address.
- How long
- Up to 7 days. It is deleted when you reach the thank-you page.
hwd_consent
- Where
- A cookie, used across the site.
- What it does
- Remembers whether you said yes or no to analytics and advertising cookies, so we don’t ask you on every page.
- How long
- Six months, then we ask again.
help-with-debt-budget
- Where
- Local storage on your device, used only by the budget planner.
- What it does
- Saves the figures you enter and how far you have got, so you can leave the planner and come back. It stays on your device.
- How long
- Until you press the planner’s reset button or clear your browser’s site data.
help-with-debt-thanks and four others beginning help-with-debt- (save-asked, card-downloaded, number-saved, callback)
- Where
- Session storage, this tab only.
- What they do
- Carry your first name, your reference and the call time you chose from the questions to the thank-you page, and remember whether you’ve been asked to save our number. They stop the page asking you twice.
- How long
- Until you close the tab.
Which advert or link brought you here
When you arrive from one of our adverts or a partner’s link, we keep the tags that link carried, so that if you send us your details we know which advert helped you find us. This is part of how the service works, so these are set when you arrive and don’t depend on your cookie choice. We set them ourselves, and no other company can read them. Our privacy notice explains what we do with them.
hwd_gclid, hwd_gbraid, hwd_wbraid, hwd_fbclid, hwd_ttclid, hwd_utm_source, hwd_utm_medium, hwd_utm_campaign, hwd_utm_content, hwd_utm_term, hwd_amount
- What they do
- Each keeps one tag from the link you arrived through (the advert’s click reference, the campaign, or the amount you picked on our home page). Only the tags that link carried are set.
- How long
- 90 days. A later link replaces them.
hwd_landing_page, hwd_referrer
- What they do
- Keep the first page you saw on this visit and the site you came from. They are passed on with your enquiry if you send one.
- How long
- Until you close your browser.
hwd_once_form_start
- What it does
- Notes that you have started the questions on this visit, so we count it once.
- How long
- Until you close your browser.
Controlling what is stored
You can see, delete and block cookies and site data in your browser’s settings. Your browser’s help pages explain how.
If you block or delete them, the site still works, but the questions may not remember your answers and the budget planner may not keep your figures.
Websites we link to, such as MoneyHelper, have their own cookies and their own notices.
Changes and questions
We update this notice whenever what we store changes. The date at the top shows when it last changed.
Questions about cookies? Email [email protected] or call 0800 817 4168 (Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm, closed Sunday). Our privacy notice explains more about how we use your information.