What a week!!!! I am a regular, but namechanged because this is ultra personal.
In the last week my sister announced she and her dh had debts of £30k they couldn't pay and had rung some dodgy company to come to their rescue as long as they paid a huge up front fee with no guarantee of sorting things out satisfactorily. They signed some documents agreeing to go ahead, but luckily I've managed to work out the agreement is not binding and persuaded her to get an appointment with the Credit Counselling Advisory Service.
My father (age 74) also announced he was broke - has never asked for a penny in his life but needed £500 fast. He's not claimed his pension yet - carried on working but has been in poor health for the last few months so no income coming in. So, I've been trying to sort out his pension claim this week - not remotely straightforward as he has no standard id - no UK birth certificate or passport - came here just after WW2 as a displaced person/child following the murder of his parents.
Needless to say I am hitting the wine.