Post-Christmas debt ‘behind rise in debt advice’

Beccy Boden Wilks, from National Debtline, said that excessive credit card spending at Christmas and rising interest rates had exacerbated the UK’s debt problem.

She was speaking after a study from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service showed that more women ought to be going bankrupt if they followed best advice; instead, many are afraid of the social stigma.

“Some people will have just paid for Christmas on their credit cards and they won’t realise until January or February when the statement comes through how much they have actually spent,” she said.

“Because we have had the increase in interest rates as well, that has just exacerbated the problem. So the whole of the debt advice sector will be feeling it at the moment.”

According to the British Bankers’ Association, credit card borrowing fell by £0.3 billion in December, although the value of loans and overdrafts went up by £0.4 billion.