Charity confirms continued rise in debt enquiries
August 22, 2007
A debt charity in the UK has confirmed that debt related enquiries have continued to rise over the first half of this year, reflecting the problems that consumers are facing with regards to their debts, and also reflecting the impact that rising interest rates and repayments have had on households that are now struggling to keep up with repayments. The information comes from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, and shows a steep increase in the level of bad debt enquiries.
According to the CCCS over 160,000 people called its help line with debt related enquiries in the first six months of this year, and this indicates a rise of 18.5% compared to the same period in the previous year. The charity also added that the figures from the first six months of this year were the highest it had ever seen, and that this is a firm indicator of how interest rate rises and rising repayments are affecting families that were already close to breaking point in terms of their finances.
Nearly 75,000 calls were made to the charity’s free phone number in the last three months alone, with thousands of people seeking advice and help because of severe money worries. However, the first quarter of the year saw an even higher level of enquiries relating to debt worries, with around 87,000 enquiries being made by debt laden families and individuals. However, with Christmas spending only just out of the way the higher level in the first quarter of the year compared to the second quarter was no surprise stated the charity.
One CCCS spokesperson stated: ‘The latest figures show that people are worried about their situation. We are seeing increased pressure on individuals, with interest rate rises and an increase in essential living costs. Debt has also become a big issue and people are coming to us early for help - which is a good thing.’
Alan Wright
22nd August 2007
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