Middle class ‘struggling with debt’ as well

Higher earners in the UK are experiencing as many debt management problems as those with lower incomes because of the recession, according to industry experts.

Director of external affairs for Baines and Ernst Nick Pearson told the Guardian that, while 20 per cent of his company’s customers earn over £30,000, they are having trouble as they have spent too much money, rather than because they have been made redundant.

Head of loans with moneysupermarket.com Tim Moss declared the credit crunch to be the sole cause for the debt problems of higher earners and people are continuing to borrow money, with 50,000 people each day applying for loans.

“I don’t think there has been a sea change in people’s attitude to credit,” he was quoted by the paper as saying.

However, last month Michelle Slade from Moneyfacts.co.uk noted that people appear to be choosing to pay off their debts rather than putting their cash into savings accounts, perhaps due to the low savings rates, suggesting that mentalities are evolving.

By Sarah Adie