Debt concerns have grown in the North East of England to the point where one out of every three individuals are in the grips of money owed to credit card companies and instant cash loan companies, recent research has revealed.
R3, the association of business recovery professionals, surveyed more than 2,000 Brits across the UK, finding that the national average of people concerned bout debts from unsecured short term loans or credit card spending stands at about 25 per cent. However, the survey also found that even though the number of people in the North East concerned about their personal debt levels were even higher, only around 5 per cent of them have sought advice for their financial matters, with an additional 3 per cent planning to seek advice in the coming six months.
North east chair of R3, Steve Ross, Steve Ross, and RSM Tenon corporate recovery director based in Sunderland, commented on the new information, stating that the new data reveals a troubling unwillingness to take advice on debt problems, even though taking steps to address them is the most sensible thing for someone facing financial distress to do. No one questions the need to take advice when you have cash to invest, yet the reverse is not true, even in the face of research showing that those who do seek proper financial debt advice report positive results almost universally, Mr Ross added.
Nearly 6 out of every 10 people in the North East had concerns about debt accrued by credit card spending, the research found, while other concerns included keeping up with an overdraft, paying off bank loans and store cards, and repaying friends, family members, or payday advance firms. 12 per cent of those within the North East reported a high likelihood of taking out payday lending, while an identical percentage of respondents indicated that they were living from one payday to another.