Debt problems ‘causing insomnia’

Some people are suffering insomnia as a result of their debt problems, it has been claimed.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has revealed 49,826 people called its 24-hour debt helpline between the hours of midnight and 07:00 last year.

While some may have been working irregular hours or too busy to call in the day, the situation may also have involved many people too worried to sleep because of their money problems and wanting to contact somebody about it.

And such severe problems may be so bad for some that the best way to tackle them is through an IVA.

This works by agreeing reduced monthly repayments with creditors and making these over a period of up to five years, at the end of which anything remaining is written off.

Commenting on the calls in the small hours, Head of e-services at the CCCS Paula Searle said: “Dealing with unmanageable debt is incredibly stressful so it is not surprising that so many are kept awake worrying about their debts.”

Those who do seek some help with their credit card debt or other money they owe and are struggling to pay back are more likely to be women than men.

An investigation into why this may be was recently carried out by Dr Jackie Goode and Dr Amanda Waring from the Centre for Research in Social Policy on behalf of the Money Advice Trust.

It found men tend to try to be more self-reliant and try to tackle such problems on their own.

By Joe White