Figures from the latest survey by the Government’s Money and Pensions Service show that over 9.1 million people in the UK are living indebted lives: and nearly 8.8 million consider that they have “serious” debt problems - with nearly 4 million having been struggling to pay their bills for more than a year.

 

Approximately 16% of the population of South Devon have serious debt issues (29.3% in Plymouth, 20.5% in Torbay, 18.3% in Exeter).  Often this is a hidden problem with people finding it hard to confront their situation and seeking reliable help.  It is also where unscrupulous lenders lend to those who already cannot afford it and charge them extortionate interest rates.

​

What the Money and Pensions Service say is that Debt advice works, and the earlier people access it the better their chance of reaching good outcomes for themselves and their creditors. We all know that high quality debt advice increases an individual’s well being, it improves collection rates for creditors and it boosts the health of communities, leaving all of us better off.

 

Advisers working for debt help charities recognise that there is often more than one problem so recommend that all debts are dealt with together rather than addressing a single issue at a time, and will look at a client’s situation holistically. This way, other potential problems can be identified early or prevented; this helps to stop them growing into anything more serious. For a client struggling with unmanageable debt, the priority is always to:

•           preserve their home, fuel supplies and liberty

•           make them aware of their rights and responsibilities

•           help them to make informed choices about how they deal with their whole debt problem.

​

More than 40% of people do not feel able to talk to their creditors about their debt problems. Repaying debts is very important to people; 83% of the over-indebted population would like to pay off their debt as soon as possible and 82% believe it’s important that they’re debt-free, therefore, we need to ensure that people can access high quality advice to provide them with appropriate ways of doing that.The vast majority of over-indebted people feel anxious, stressed and unhappy as a result of their situation, however, only a minority are accessing advice. We know that accessing advice brings a range of benefits and we need to enable more people to recognise the benefits of advice and to access it in an efficient way.