East Riding Your Money Team: Free Council Tax and Financial Help

East Riding of Yorkshire Council runs a specialist support unit called the Your Money Team that most residents have never heard of. It sits inside the council but operates as a free advice service — helping with benefits, council tax, debt, and budgeting — and it is one of the most useful resources available if you are struggling to pay your bill.

What the Your Money Team Does

The Your Money Team provides confidential, free support including:

• Benefit checks — reviewing whether you are receiving everything you are entitled to, including Council Tax Reduction, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit, and disability benefits
• Council Tax Support applications — helping you complete the online form, gather evidence, and submit your claim correctly
• Debt support — setting up manageable payment plans for council tax arrears and other council debts
• Exceptional Hardship Fund applications — assisting with the discretionary fund that can cover the remaining 20% of your bill if you are already on maximum Council Tax Reduction
• Income maximisation — identifying grants, discounts, and support you may not know about, including the Crisis and Resilience Fund for food, fuel, and essential goods
• Budgeting advice — practical help with managing household finances

The team can also liaise directly with other council departments on your behalf, which can speed up claim processing and resolve billing disputes without you having to navigate the system alone.

How to Contact Them

• Phone: (01482) 394633
• Email: [email protected]

Phone lines can be busy during peak billing periods (March to May), so email is often faster for non-urgent queries. You can also request support in person at any of the Customer Service Centres in Beverley, Bridlington, Brough, Cottingham, Driffield, or Goole.

Citizens Advice Hull & East Riding

For independent advice — meaning advice from an organisation outside the council — Citizens Advice Hull & East Riding provides free, confidential support across the local authority area.

When Citizens Advice is the better option:

• You want to appeal a Council Tax Reduction decision and need someone independent to review whether the council applied its own rules correctly
• You are facing a liability order or enforcement action and need a debt caseworker to negotiate on your behalf
• You want to check whether the council's scheme itself treats you fairly compared to claimants in other circumstances
• You need tribunal representation at the Valuation Tribunal for England

Contact details:

• Freephone adviceline: 0808 278 7981 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm)
• Debt appointment line: (01482) 226859
• Universal Credit Help to Claim: 0800 144 8 444

Drop-in offices:

• Beverley — 33 Lairgate, HU17 8ET (Tue/Fri 9am–4pm)
• Bridlington — 6 Manor Street, YO15 2RU (Tue 9am–4pm)
• Goole — 80 Pasture Road, DN14 6HD (Wed 9am–4pm)
• Hull — The Wilson Centre, Alfred Gelder Street, HU1 2AG

Outreach appointments are also available in Brough, Hessle, Withernsea, and Pocklington through the central booking line.

Which Service to Use When

If you need help applying for Council Tax Reduction, the Your Money Team is the most direct route — they know the local scheme inside out and can often process things faster because they sit within the council. For general benefits and income checks, they are equally effective.

If your issue is a dispute with the council — a decision you believe is wrong, a penalty you want to challenge, or arrears where enforcement action has started — Citizens Advice provides the independent perspective and casework capacity that the council's own team cannot.

For severe debt involving multiple creditors (not just council tax), national services like StepChange (0800 138 1111) and National Debtline (0808 808 4000) offer structured debt management plans that cover all your debts together.

Both the Your Money Team and Citizens Advice are free. Neither will pressure you into buying anything or signing up for a service. If you are unsure where to start, either one can point you in the right direction.

For the full picture of what Council Tax Reduction covers and how to claim it yourself, see the complete East Riding guide.

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