Financial Wellbeing

Financial Abuse UK: How to Recognise It and Access Help

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Financial abuse — where one person controls another's access to money and economic resources — affects millions of UK adults, predominantly but not exclusively women. It's a recognised form of domestic abuse under UK law, often used alongside emotional, physical, or psychological abuse. Recognising it is the first step to addressing it.

What Financial Abuse Looks Like

Financial abuse can include: controlling all household money while giving a partner an 'allowance'; preventing a partner from working or studying; running up debt in a partner's name without consent; sabotaging employment (causing rows before interviews, hiding car keys); monitoring and questioning every purchase; refusing to allow access to bank accounts or credit cards; demanding that wages are handed over; or using money as punishment or reward to control behaviour.

It's Recognised as Domestic Abuse

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 explicitly includes economic abuse as a form of domestic abuse in England and Wales. Coercive control — which financial abuse is often part of — is a criminal offence carrying up to 5 years in prison. Being aware of your legal position is important: you have rights, and your partner's behaviour may constitute a criminal offence regardless of whether physical abuse is also occurring.
  • •Economic abuse is legally recognised as domestic abuse since 2021
  • •Coercive control (including financial) is a criminal offence
  • •You don't need to have experienced physical abuse to seek help
  • •Both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships are protected

Rebuilding Financial Independence

For those in or leaving an abusive situation: open a bank account in your own name (banks have protocols for supporting those escaping abuse — ask the branch or call the bank directly). Check your credit report for debts in your name you didn't agree to. Citizens Advice can help you understand your entitlements to benefits if you've been prevented from working. The government's 'You Are Not Alone' campaign provides signposting to local services.
What if my partner controls all our finances and I need money to leave?+

Contact a domestic abuse helpline first — they can advise on safe ways to access emergency funds. Many local domestic abuse organisations can provide emergency cash grants. Your bank's vulnerable customer team can help open a separate account with discretion.

Can I be liable for debts my partner took out in my name?+

If a partner fraudulently applied for credit in your name without consent, you may be able to challenge these debts as fraud. Cifas protective registration (£25) adds a flag to your credit file requiring extra verification for future credit applications in your name.

Where to Get Help

National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge): 0808 2000 247 — free, 24/7. National Debt Line: 0808 808 4000 — free debt advice. Citizens Advice: citizensadvice.org.uk or 0800 144 8848. Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA): survivingeconomicabuse.org — specialist charity focused on financial and economic abuse. StepChange: stepchange.org — free debt advice charity for those in financial difficulty as a result of abuse.
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