One million adults across the UK are likely to declare themselves bankrupt or take out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement according to a survey commissioned by debt consultancy firm Thomas Charles.
The statistics from the survey suggest that the recent insolvency figures from the Department of Trade and Industry are the tip of the iceberg, with the firm estimating that the 78,000 insolvencies recorded last year will soon be several times higher.
While 21% of adults with unsecured debt of over GBP10,000 or over have difficulty repaying their debts every month, this increased to 33% for separated and divorced people. When asked what the overriding reason for having such high levels of unsecured debt was, 23% of the respondents admitted to overspending.
James Falla, director of Thomas Charles, said: The rise of the ‘credit junkie’ phenomenon and the spend, spend, spend culture is a long term issue. It needs addressing at grass roots level and that means via the educational system.