Consumers urged to ‘think before they borrow’

British consumers could avoid adding to their debt management misery by giving careful consideration to their financial options before opting to borrow more money, one expert has asserted.

James Ketchell from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) suggests that people who are refused credit from a particular lender should assess whether borrowing money is their most appropriate financial option.

Indeed, with millions of consumers already dealing with personal loan and credit card debt, Mr Ketchell makes clear that borrowing money can often lead to prolonged financial difficulties.

“I think people have to question whether they actually can afford to take the debt out in the first place,” he said.

He added that those people who are keen to gain credit should “see whether that is really needed or whether it is merely wishful and something that people want rather than something that they need”.

Earlier this year, a report from the CCCS suggested that the burden of debt management is increasingly shifting to older generations of British consumers.