Solutions to debt problems ‘are a long way off’

Those struggling with debt management are likely to continue experiencing difficulties well into 2010, an industry expert has said, as a result of joblessness and rising prices and interest rates.

Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action – a national money education charity – remarked that although household wealth is set to improve, it will be “very slow and gradual”, as unemployment levels will be poor for a long time.

“Those type of employment issues are a real source of debt problems because they impact on people’s income so heavily,” he said, adding that people should not become complacent as the economy recovers as many will still face financial hardship.

Mr Tapp’s comments follow recent statistics compiled for the BBC, which revealed that – as a result of the credit crunch – households in the UK saw their wealth plummet by an average of approximately £31,000 during 2008.

Furthermore, figures from Credit Action indicated that the country’s personal debt levels stood at £1,458 billion at the end of June.

By Sarah Adie

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