Adults may slip into debt after one unforeseen circumstance, report warns

Many adults could fall into debt if they experience a drop in income of £300, as they would not be able to afford their mortgage repayments, a study has suggested.

Research commissioned by Callcredit Information Group and carried out by YouGov, has revealed that 25 per cent of those aged between 35 and 44 would be dicing with financial difficulty should their wage decrease by such an amount.

The findings show that people in that age bracket, with a young family to support, have been hit particularly hard by the recession and have attempted to secure higher credit limits to help them through the tough spell.

Graham Lund, managing director at Callcredit, described the figures as “highly alarming”.

He said that many of these individuals are “living on a financial precipice, where just one negative event, such as a reduction in paid overtime or an unexpected expense could have disastrous financial consequences”.

Earlier in the week, Lord Marlesford expressed his concerns over rising credit card debt as it emerged the amount had increased by £8 billion in the last year.

By Joe Shervin