Britons turning to debt to live day-to-day
Britons turning to debt to live day-to-day
Thursday 7th August 2008
Unbiased.co.uk has discovered that during the first quarter of this year consumers took out unsecured debt, not including mortgages, totalling almost £23 billion.
This is more than double the debt taken out in the same period last year, when the figure was just £9.6 billion.
It is thought the rise is down to a combination of higher mortgage repayments, coupled with soaring food and energy bills.
Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable described the trend as "worrying" and said it showed "the knife edge on which many people are now living".
He told the Daily Mail: "It is clear that many people are desperately trying to ride out their current economic woes through short-term unsecured borrowing.
'The danger is that if the economic downturn worsens further, racking up even more unsecured debt now will cause greater pain further down the line."
The rise in Britons struggling with mounting loan and credit card debt is expected to see more and more consumers opt for debt management solutions this year, such as a debt consolidation loan or an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA).
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