Basic household bills forcing more people into debt
10/06/2014
The number of people falling into debt because they cannot afford basic household bills such as energy, water and council tax has increased significantly in recent years.
The Money Advice Trust (MAT) claimed it helped 150,000 people with household debts in 2013 – an increase of 140% since 2007.
In contrast to these figures, there have been fewer reports of people with traditional debt problems, such as loans and overdrafts.
New generation of debt problems
Joanna Elson, chief executive of the MAT said the increased cost of living has eroded many families surplus income. She claimed this this has led to “a new generation of debt problems, one to which more people are vulnerable, once which is harder to resolve, and one which has no definitive solution.”
She continued to say that more people are finding themselves in serious difficulty with debts totalling less than £5,000, and that these debts “can seem impossible” to pay off when there is little room in the household budget.
Whilst she did concede that the recent announcement of an increase to the minimum wage is a “positive step towards helping those families”, she still claimed that “more can be done”.
Resistant to ask for help
However, despite the efforts of MAT in helping those in debt, a recent survey found that adults in debt are hesitant to ask for advice.
The survey of 1,000 people revealed that 69% of British adults in debt have not asked for advice – raising fears that the underlying debt problems could be even worse than previously thought.
Need financial advice?
If you need to ask a financial question then please contact our financial advisers online or over the phone to get help with your query.
Share this..
Related stories
OFT warns pensioners of scams
As we approach the winter period the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has today issued a warning to pensioners in the UK to be wary of scams from doorstep sellers. Even though canvassing on the doorstep is not illegal, and many legitimate businesses use this particular means of contact, there is no doubt that we have seen an increase in fraudsters and scams over the last few years. Anything from "brok...
Read MoreWhy shopping online could save you a fortune this year!
As we approach the Christmas period we will no doubt see the depressing headlines regarding low expected retail sales for the festive period which appear every year. However, the UK consumer has a knack of saving up for Christmas and very few Christmases are ever as bleak as the retail analysts forecast, even in these most difficult of times. But how can you save yourself money at Christmas?
...
Is the price of oil set to move higher?
In a startling revelation which does nothing to dispel the fear that the oil market is in some way rigged by investors, it was revealed that 10 oil tankers have been anchored off the south coast of England for some months, waiting for the price of oil to rise. The owners of the oil tankers have refused to unload their fuel at various ports in the region as they fully expect the price of oil to con...
Read MoreDo you really need to be aggressive in the workplace?
The report we covered earlier from the Institute for Social and Economic Research, which claims that nice people are paid less than more aggressive people in the workplace, has opened something of a can of worms in relation to how aggressive you need to be to be successful in business. The study seems to suggest that those who are extrovert, looking for new experiences and ultimately aggressive ar...
Read MoreTube Strike Called Off At Last Minute
Tube workers union the RMT has advised members to accept an improved pay offer from employers and called off the imminent 3 day strike action which would have crippled London and caused travel chaos. The Union has been able to negotiate a 4.99% deal for this year and a future pay structure which will see future rises based on the Retail Price Index plus 0.85% from April 2009. But is this good fo...
Read More