Online debt help ‘most popular with young adults’

Using the internet to seek debt guidance is most popular with individuals under the age of 40, a new study has found.

According to research carried out by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), two-thirds of people who used its online counselling tool CCCS Debt Remedy in 2009 were in this age bracket.

The statistics also showed that more women than men are dealing with their financial problems by connecting to the web – with 53 per cent of those utilising the facility in 2008 and 2009 being female.

Paula Searle, head of e-services at CCCS, said: “The higher rates of online debt counselling users in any particular category is likely to be a combination of need for help with their debts and general internet usage.”

NatWest’s 2010 MoneySense Research Panel recently discovered that teenagers believe themselves to be more savvy in regard to money matters as a result of the recession than they were 12 months ago.

By Joe Shervin