Tuesday, July 03, 2007

 

Personal debt for UK citizens is on the rise, with current figures showing an alarming growth pattern for 2006 and 2007. Reports from Credit Action indicate that consumer debt as a whole increased 10.4 per cent through April 2007, and at the present time stands at £1.325 trillion. Of that figure, £1.1 trillion is secured lending such as mortgages, making the total increase 11.4 per cent compared to the previous year's figures.

 

In addition, a 5.4 per cent in credit lending was reported, and stands at £213 billion based on reports by Money High Street.

 

Currently, the average debt per household is over £8,800 not including mortgages. The figure rises to £54,771 when mortgages are included in the figure. This means nine per cent of all take home pay goes into debt repayments, an amount that poses serious financial pressure in many households.

 

Figures from the Insolvency Service indicate that 46 per cent more borrowers entered into individual voluntary arrangements during the first three months of 2007 than during the same period a year ago. According to QCK, 15,356 people filed bankruptcy during the first quarter and 11,299 entered into IVAs.