More people likely to need debt advice this year
February 18, 2011
Over the past few years more and more people have fallen into a debt trap, and have been left struggling to try and keep their heads above water financially because of the challenging financial and economic climate that is hitting so many people across the country. The demand for debt advice over the past couple of years has soared, and with a rising number of challenges set to hit consumers this year there are fears that this demand could continue to rise.
A number of industry experts and groups have painted a bleak picture when it comes to personal finances in 2011. Recent reports have suggested that the number of personal insolvencies is set to rocket despite the fact that there was a drop in insolvency numbers if the last three months of last year. The Consumer Credit Counselling Service has also said that it has already seen a surge in the number of people using its online credit counselling tool, and that this demand is likely to increase sharply over the course of this year.
In January around 8591 people are said to have used this online debt counselling tool, and this was twice has many as the previous month. It was also the higher than any month in 2010. Many of those using the service may have been struggling with their Christmas and New Year debts, but there are many other factors that are to affect consumer finances this year, including higher living costs, increased VAT, job losses, and possible interest rate hikes.
Delroy Corinaldi, CCCS External Affairs Director, said: “The next year will be very difficult for many people and I am concerned that those struggling with debt will end up being charged for debt advice because they are unaware that free advice and support is available. I hope that the availability of this free service which can be used at any time online will help prevent people paying for debt advice unnecessarily.”
- Use the internet to get debt advice Many people these days have a lot of debt that they are dealing with, and in the current climate it has become increasingly difficult for those in debt to maintain repayments and make their finances
- Paying off credit cards with a loan could be beneficial It has been suggested in a recent report that many people in the UK that have high levels of credit card debt could actually benefit by paying off their high interest credit card debt with
- Is the insolvency road about to get busier? Over recent years more and more people have been turning to insolvency in order to escape mounting debt that they can never hope to repay. The past couple of years has seen an increase in
- Two thirds of equity release advisors not up to scratch It has been claimed that around two thirds of equity release financial advisors are not up to scratch, and are letting down the many pensioners that are turning to them for advice in the current
- Even wealthier borrowers are now struggling to repay their loans A recent report has claimed that suffering severe financial difficulty is no longer a problem that affects only low income consumers. The report shows that financial difficulties are now even hitting homeowners living in fairly
Comments
Got something to say?