2m Brits enduring £10k of credit card debt

Research from debt agency One Advice found that of these, half a million owed over £20,000 through personal loans, credit cards and overdrafts being largely responsible.

In particular those aged between 35 and 44 were especially vulnerable, with 650,000 of the two million coming from this age bracket.

“It is worrying that so many people owe so much in unsecured debt… this seems to be rising,” Chris Holmes, chief executive of One Advice, observed.

“With many unsecured borrowing products having high interest rates, many people are entrapped in debt, often only paying off the interest accrued every month as opposed to the capital they have borrowed.”

Although the majority of borrowers feel “comfortable” with their levels of credit card debt, as a survey by CreditIndex released yesterday showed, 11 per cent of people expected their credit card debt to increase in the next few months.

Figures from the nearly 14,000 people who have confided in debt resolution company ClearDebt show that these figures are even higher amongst those who are uncomfortable enough with their debt to seek debt advice. ClearDebt’s user-base owes an average of £26,600 in credit cards and loans, roughly 165 per cent of their annual take-home income.

Britain’s debt culture, which claims around 70,000 bankruptcies in England and Wales each year, means the UK now owes a total of £1.1 trillion.