WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2006

The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has reported that their callers will take an average of 77 years to pay off their debt, effectively being saddled with a lifetime of debt.

The CAB said that most of the people seeking debt advice were on half of the national wage, with many on government benefits and unable to pay the fees necessary to declare themselves bankrupt.

The CAB said that the number of people asking for help and advice relating to loan and credit card debt has doubled in the last 8 years. On average, people clients over £13,000, many being caught in a vicious circle of low income and high levels of debt.

David Harker, CAB executive, said "Low income, combined with badly informed and poorly understood financial decisions, are at the root of many of our clients' debt problems." He suggested that the government should introduce Debt Relief Orders (DROs) for people on low incomes. A DRO is similar to bankruptcy, but with lower fees, and would be offered to individuals who could not afford other options such as debt consolidation or an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA).