Average Brit ‘has £4,900 in unsecured debt’

An average British consumer has an unsecured debt management burden worth close to £4,900, according to the latest figures compiled by Credit Action.

Borrowings secured through retail or motor finance deals, bank account overdrafts, credit cards or unsecured personal loans are now worth thousands of pounds for millions of people.

In fact, the charity reports that one person around the country is declared bankrupt or insolvent every four minutes and when mortgage arrears are included the typical debt level is almost £58,000 per household.

House prices are falling by around £65 each day that passes, while 11.8 million mortgage holders around the country have outstanding arrears worth close to £102,500.

A statement from Credit Action said: “Britain’s interest repayments have soared to £94 billion in the last 12 months.

“The average interest paid by each household on their total debt is approximately £3,774 each year which has increased £300 in the last 12 months.”

Moneysupermarket.com claimed recently that July could be particularly painful for thousands of British borrowers whose fixed-rate mortgage deals are about to end.

By Dan Mather