Citizens Advice flooded with inquiries

11/06/2009

Citizens Advice has seen a sharp increase in the number of people seeking out financial help.

The charity said that overall inquiries have risen by nine per cent over the past year, as the effects of the credit crunch hit home to UK consumers.

Included in the total was a 114 per cent rise in redundancy issues and a 49 per cent increase in people struggling to pay off their mortgages.

The particularly sharp rise in job losses comes alongside a deterioration in the labour market.

Unemployment is up to above seven per cent of the workforce on latest government figures.

Meanwhile, repossessions are predicted by some analysts to double this year from 2008's total of 40,000.

David Harker, Citizens Advice chief executive, added: "It is … absolutely vital that all lenders and creditors treat people in arrears fairly and sympathetically, negotiate with borrowers in trouble and do everything they can to help ease their debt problems and avoid adding to them.

"These new figures show the human impact of the recession."

Tags; Housing Debt and Bills, Young Family Finances, Retirement Money Problems, Recent Graduate Debt,

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