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02/06/2005
Debt not considered a problem by most Britons
The vast majority of people in the UK do not consider their debt repayments to be a problem, a government-commissioned survey has found.
The MORI survey, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), found that, despite an increase in consumer borrowing in recent years, only 5% of those surveyed considered their household debt repayments to be a problem.
The survey of almost 10,000 people found that those who are struggling with over-indebtness in the UK are typically in their 20s and 30s, have children, are living in rented accomodation and earn less than £9,500 a year.
Nine per cent of those surveyed spent more than half of their income on total credit repayments and eight per cent spent more than a quarter of their income on unsecured credit repayments.
Four per cent of repsondents also admitted to having been in arrears on credit commitments and domestic bills for more than three months. Individuals were found to be the most likely to be behind on domestic bills – council tax was found to be the most common payment for people to fall behind on, closely followed by rent, water and gas/electricity bills.
The survey also found that 19% of people do not pay off the full balance on their credit cards, while 15% used overdrafts, although they tended to owe a lot less on average (£355) than other credit commitments.
Apart from mortgages, the commitments that people owed the most on were car finance, followed by personal loans, government student loans, bank/building society loans, hire purchase and loans from family and friends.
Commenting on the survey, Consumer Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: “Over-debtness can cause huge problems for individuals, which is why we are currently working hard to minimise the number of people who become over-indebted and improve support for those who have fallen into debt. However, it is encouraging to see that, despite an increase in consumer borrowing, the percentage of those who find their debts unmangeable is still relatively small.”
(KMcA/SP)
The MORI survey, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), found that, despite an increase in consumer borrowing in recent years, only 5% of those surveyed considered their household debt repayments to be a problem.
The survey of almost 10,000 people found that those who are struggling with over-indebtness in the UK are typically in their 20s and 30s, have children, are living in rented accomodation and earn less than £9,500 a year.
Nine per cent of those surveyed spent more than half of their income on total credit repayments and eight per cent spent more than a quarter of their income on unsecured credit repayments.
Four per cent of repsondents also admitted to having been in arrears on credit commitments and domestic bills for more than three months. Individuals were found to be the most likely to be behind on domestic bills – council tax was found to be the most common payment for people to fall behind on, closely followed by rent, water and gas/electricity bills.
The survey also found that 19% of people do not pay off the full balance on their credit cards, while 15% used overdrafts, although they tended to owe a lot less on average (£355) than other credit commitments.
Apart from mortgages, the commitments that people owed the most on were car finance, followed by personal loans, government student loans, bank/building society loans, hire purchase and loans from family and friends.
Commenting on the survey, Consumer Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: “Over-debtness can cause huge problems for individuals, which is why we are currently working hard to minimise the number of people who become over-indebted and improve support for those who have fallen into debt. However, it is encouraging to see that, despite an increase in consumer borrowing, the percentage of those who find their debts unmangeable is still relatively small.”
(KMcA/SP)
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