National Debtline reports substantial increase in enquiries
The UK government funded National Debtline has today reported an increase in enquiries from 16,000 a month to 23,000 a month in November. This reflects the ever worsening financial situation for the general UK consumer with money becoming tighter and job security a serious issue from many. There are also concerns of a substantial increase in debts as more and more UK consumers are unable to keep up with payments on both mortgages and non-mortgage arrangements.
It is worth pointing out that there are legal guidelines which offer protection to those in financial trouble put advice should be sought at the earliest opportunity to maximise the chance of retaining the vast majority of their assets. Those who sit back and assume the economy will pick up and they will overcome their financial difficulties are the ones most at risk as ignorance of the issue could have serious implications.
The government is also forecasting a substantial increase in bankruptcies and IVAs across the UK but there may well be a time lag between increased figures in these areas and the ever worsening economic situation. While for many the prospect of bankruptcy or some form of individual voluntary arrangement would seem like a worst case scenario, the stigma attached to these is very different to that of many years ago.
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