Citizens Advice have called for a new form of insolvency to be made available to people on low incomes, after new figures show many of their clients are facing the prospect of a lifetime of servicing unpayable debt.
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has said that debt seems to be a ‘normal part of life’ for high earners, with the number of people earning more than £30,000 a year asking them for debt help rising 257% in the last 3 years.
A new report by poll firm YouGov claims that the number of UK bankruptcies could be set to explode, with up to a million people ‘quite likely’ or ‘certain’ to declare themselves bankrupt in the near future.
The latest figures from the Dept of Trade and Industry show yet another steep rise in the personal insolvency rate, with the first quarter of 2006 seeing 13% more then the last quarter of 2005, and a huge 73% rise over the same period 12 months ago.
A recent study conducted by YouGov on behalf of debt consultancy firm Thomas Charles has estimated that nearly a fifth of the UK adult population have unsecured debts of £10k or more.