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BankruptcyNews
Junior Member
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 Posted - 14 May 2007 : 10:37:46
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More poorer households seeking debt advice
The proportion of people seeking debt advice who live below the relative poverty line almost doubled last year, figures showed today.
Debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) said 35% of the individuals seen by its counsellors in 2006 were from low-income households.
The relative poor - those living on less than 60% of average earnings - now represent a disproportionate percentage of people seeking advice, making up more than one in three CCCS clients, but just 18% of the UK population as a whole.
In 2004 and 2005 the proportion of CCCS clients from low-income households was 19% and 18% - broadly in line with national relative poverty levels.
The charity said the jump in 2006 was almost entirely the result of more low-income people with mortgages seeking help with unsecured debt.
CCCS's latest Debt Dashboard also showed that the size of debt being taken on by poor households is increasing at a worryingly high rate.
Homeowners seeking the charity's help who were living above the relative poverty line had an average unsecured debt of £40,194 in 2006, down from £40,338 in the previous year.
Over the same period, homeowner clients living below the low-income threshold saw average unsecured debt rocket by more than 50%, from £22,998 in 2005 to £35,719 last year.
The CCCS said many unsecured lenders have been generous to homeowners in recent years, whilst a deluge of daytime advertising had encouraged people to consolidate their unsecured credit into secured loans.
But as available equity to back such loans diminishes, households will find that their options become limited, the charity warned.
Malcolm Hurlston, chairman of CCCS, said: "In our last Dashboard we warned that homeowners were being put on the rack.
"This latest research shows that the effects are already being felt by the most vulnerable.
"Low-income homeowners are at risk of suffering the fate of the miner's canary - being the first to succumb when the situation turns sour."
The debt charity said it intends to write to the Council of Mortgage Lenders over the plight of low-income homeowners.
Mr Hurlston added: "Although mortgage payments and other priority debts should always be prioritised when finances are tight, many people on low incomes are leaving it longer to seek independent help or advice about their unsecured debts.
"By the time they contact us their situation is on the brink."
Source: 24dash.com
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More poorer households seeking debt advice
