According to one cash loans provider, seven out of every ten adults in the UK suffer from debt, yet many refuse to confront the problem and seek help, instead allowing the problem to get out of hand.
In-branch and online loans provider the Co-operative Bank, which conducted the research, discovered that 39 per cent of Brits will avoid confronting their debt problems. Most will not even admit that they may be in debt until their borrowing reaches an average of £1,247.
The bank says that those who neglect to confront their issues suffer from something referred to by the industry as ‘DRIP’ syndrome, an acronym that stands for Denial, Rationalisation, Ignorance, and Postponement. Brits unwilling to cope with debt first deny that there is any problem, then rationalise the reasons they ended up this way before then ignoring the problem and postponing dealing with it, the Co-op’s researchers said.
The research found that many decide to try to cope with debt in unsustainable ways, such as resorting to short term loans or by gambling. Payday lending can be quite useful, experts say, but in occasional situations where a borrower needs a quick infusion of cash and will not run the risk of having problems repaying the debt at the end of the month.
Other information uncovered by the research study indicated that 50 per cent of Brits have actually fallen deeper into debt over the past 12 months, as rising living costs, such as fuel and energy prices, have resulted in increased debt levels of around £325 on average.