Brits at risk of “scorpion’s tail of debt”

UK adults have been warned by an industry expert to beware of a “scorpion’s tail of debt”, even as the country lifts itself out of the recession.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service’s (CCCS’s) chairman Malcolm Hurlston noted that, although the growth being seen in gross domestic product signifies that Britain has “turned a corner”, the impact this is to have on citizens’ lives “will be slow”.

“There are still hundreds of thousands of people wondering how they are going to pay their bills over the next year,” he said.

Figures from the CCCS show that calls to its helpline increased by 25 per cent in 2009, with 86,573 enquiries taken in the fourth quarter, facts which prompted Mr Hurlston to assert that government support and positive lender attitudes must continue.

His comments come in the wake of findings from the Nielsen-British Retail Consortium Consumer Confidence Survey, which showed that people are increasingly concerned about debt levels, with 29 per cent intending to settle arrears.

By Sarah Adie