Calls to insolvency helpline's in the region are reported to have increased by a massive 75% in the last year, repossession is also on the increase and the cost of living is at an all time high, even the Queen has cancelled her Diamond Wedding celebrations. This week I've taken an indepth look at the current recession and what help, if any, is out there for people struggling to cope.
According to figures released by the UK Insolvency Helpline, over 88,000 calls were made by people in Conwy County in the last year alone to the helpline relating to personal debt and house repossession.
“The helpline receives around 5000 calls each week from people all over the UK struggling with debt from personal loans that are costing more than they can afford,” explained the helpline's Ian Boden-Smyth.
“Many callers have long term loans and their loan rates often have very high interest rates. One of the main reasons why people are getting into debt is because they are unable to obtain personal loans at cheap rates because have had past credit problems.
Figures show the total amount of consumer credit, leaving out mortgages, stands at a staggering £150 billion pounds. That’s three times higher than when current records began just a decade ago.
“The causes of debt are so many and varied and not usually due to irresponsibility, as is commonly assumed,” added Ian. “Some loan companies charge up to 95% interest on their loan products.”
“Calls to our helpline from the people in the Conwy County are for a number of reasons but are mainly due to drops in tourism, lack of resources, poor transport links and isolation, in particular small rural communities where people are in desperate need of budget advise,” explained Ian.
The causes of debt can be devastating to people and their families and make people feel ashamed, guilty, frustrated, and angry and can seriously affect both mental and physical health. It can also be the cause of relationship break downs.
More people are seeking help because they are having problems paying their essential household bills, according to figures released by the national charity Citizens Advice.
New debt figures released this week show that Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales saw mortgage arrears problems shoot up by 35% in the first two months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007. The new figures also reveal continuing increases in problems relating to basic essentials such as gas and electricity, water, telephone and council tax debts.
Teresa Perchard, Director of Policy for Citizens Advice said: “It is a worrying trend that our bureau are reporting a very sharp increase in the number of mortgage arrears problems they are dealing with. These latest figures paint a worrying picture, suggesting a significant number of households are struggling to meet their most basic living costs. The combination of big increases in household bills, especially fuel, and rising housing costs is putting additional pressure on people’s finances when they are already stretched to the limit.”
In the financial year 2006/2007 Citizens Advice Bureaux dealt with 5.7 million new problems, more than 1.7 million of which concerned debt. Debt is now the number one issue advised on in bureau, accounting for nearly one in three of all enquiries.
Both Ian And Teresa advised that seeking help is the first step towards clearing debts, telling creditors about difficulties with payments and working out a manageable payment plan can all help ease the burden of debt.
Check out the full story in this week's edition of the North Wales Weekly News.

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