Creditors ‘blocking consumer debt solutions’

Mr Mond insists that the falling number of consumers opting to enter Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) reflects the efforts of banks and other creditors to deter people from taking this action.

The scale of the debt management burden among consumers across the country and market forces in general suggest the fall in IVA applications in the first quarter of this year is not a natural process, Mr Mond makes clear.

“There will be a debt crisis in this country unless creditors stop trying to dam the flood of people who can no longer afford the credit they have been given,” he said.

“Debt resolution schemes that are achievable and affordable – and which represent a debtor’s best efforts – should not be frustrated by the banks.”

Figures from the Insolvency Service showed recently that the number of people in the UK who were made insolvent fell from over 30,000 in the first three months of this year to just under 27,000 in the second quarter.