Business up for Britain’s debt collectors

Debt collection companies in the UK took on three-times more debt last year than was the case six years ago, according to reports.

Figures from the Credit Services Association (CSA) show that around £21 billion worth of debt has been passed to collectors over the past 12 months and this equates to around 20 million separate cases of personal indebtedness among UK consumers.

And as more and more people around the country struggle to deal with their debt management problems, the CSA suggests that some credit consumers are resorting to moving house as a way to avoid paying off their debts.

In fact, research by the organisation indicates that of the 20 million or so cases handed to debt collectors, “at least one million were ‘gone-aways'”, Godfrey Lancashire, CSA president, told the Times.

The total amount owed by UK consumers currently stands at around £1,345 billion, according to figures from Credit Action.