‘Decisive action needed to stop debt cycle’

Anyone facing debt management difficulties in the UK needs to take “decisive action” to find a solution to their financial problems, according to Steve Folkard from the AXA insurance firm.

Mr Folkard is convinced that the whole of British society needs to take debt management issues more seriously and act collectively in a more responsible way in order to slow the rise in personal debt levels.

The AXA spokesperson’s comments came after the company’s own research showed that around four million people consider themselves to be “blacklisted” by lenders because of their poor credit history.

“The knock-on affects of having a poor credit rating can be endless, as it becomes increasingly difficult to access credit,” said Mr Folkard.

“If you’ve got financial problems, there is a solution – but on an individual level and for the nation as a whole, we need to recognise that decisive action is the only way to solve the problem.”

Research by MoneyExpert.com recently showed that more than four million UK consumers are still paying off the credit card debt they accumulated in the run up to Christmas last year.