The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 1 plus 4 letter word HIT A SNAG
H
I
T
A
S
N
A
G
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Encounter a problem" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case encounter a problem = hit a snag.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.