Christmas spending up to 10% more this year

According to Richard Dodd, spokesman for the BRC, December spending is likely to reach £30 billion, with £12 billion of that related to Christmas. This marks a potential 10 per cent rise on last year.

While saying that the BRC findings were “fairly informal”, Mr Dodd added that they agreed with recent Apacs figures that expect December spending to rise six per cent.

However, without a debt management plan, many people may not factor this increase in spending into their budgets and could face a new year of repayments.

Expectations of a surge in Christmas spending comes as licensed insolvency practitioner Philip Beck warns of a rise in Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and bankruptcies in January unless debt management action is taken now.

This is particularly important as interest rates have just risen, something that Mr Dodd criticised.