Many debtors ‘going it alone’

Almost a million people in the UK are dealing with their debt difficulties on their own, without asking for professional help.

This is according to statistics from R3, which revealed that 916,000 Britons are struggling in this manner, while a further 574,000 have been in informal contact with creditors for assistance.

Commenting on the fact that government figures indicate a 26 per cent climb in personal insolvencies from 2008 to 2009, president of the company Peter Sargent said: “Even these record personal insolvencies are just the tip of a very worrying personal debt iceberg.”

He went on to note that there remains a “much larger group” who are ignoring their problems with debt.

It was also shown that the number of those in financial difficulty is approximately seven times more than people in formal insolvency.

Those in debt may benefit from contacting the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, as Amyas Morse of the National Audit Office recently stated that the organisation’s advisory service has been effective and useful in the past.

By Sarah Adie