Women fare worst as debt crisis spirals
Thursday, 02 November 2006 12:00
Some 8.4 million Britons have more than £10,000 of unsecured debts, and one person in five is now struggling to meet their debt payments.
But it is women that are faring the worst as the UK's debt mountain bears down on consumers, a new study by debt and insolvency experts Thomas Charles reveals.
"Our latest research confirms that the debt problem in the UK is continuing to worsen," said Thomas Charles director James Falla.
"We are currently witnessing a correlation of increased borrowing alongside a massive decrease in the number of people coping with their debts."
The number of Britons with unsecured debts over £10,000 increased by 400,000 in the last 6 months.
Additionally, the number of adults with regular problems repaying their debts increased from 1.8 million in April to 2.5 million in October this year.
One woman in three with debts over £10,000 is reporting regular problems meeting payments, an increase of 27 per cent in the last six months.
And this means more people than ever are on the brink of insolvency, with 1.4 million adults saying they are likely or certain to declare themselves bankrupt or take out an IVA, 300,000 more than was the case in April.
"If action is not taken to curb borrowing trends in the UK, the situation is likely to spiral over the coming years, as illustrated by the 1.4 million adults currently reporting some danger of insolvency," said Mr Falla.
"In the female population, for example, where one in three women in £10,000-plus of debt are struggling with repayments, we could quickly reach a tipping point where those in financial trouble outnumber those who are not."
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