UK personal debt stands at £1.4tn

Outstanding personal debt in the UK at the end of October 2012 stood at £1.4 trillion, newly-released research has found.

Figures from Credit Action highlight the scale of the debt problem in the UK at present, as individuals now owe nearly as much as the entire country produced during 2011.

Average household debt in the nation – excluding mortgages – is at £5,934 and this shows how people need to take action to ensure they bring their financial situation under control.

With typical borrowing, which includes credit cards, motor and retail finance deals, overdrafts and unsecured loans, at £3,184 per UK adult in October, consumers need to be careful when it comes to budgeting.

A property is being repossessed every 16 minutes and four seconds, a person is declared insolvent or bankrupt every four minutes and 42 seconds and the daily amount of interest paid on personal debt in October was £166 million.

By Joe White