IVA & Debt Consolidation Advice

According to a new report, those who reside in the UK on average are twice as much as in debt than those in other parts of Europe. Currently, according to the business research firm Data Monitor, the average British resident owes £3,175 and total UK personal debt is about £1.2 trillion. The average for Europe as a whole was just £1,558 in unsecured debt per person.

One of the main reasons for this rise in debt was the rising popularity of credit cards in the UK and the amount of borrowing that has taken place due to credit card debt.

The debt advisory service the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS), was one of the many organizations pointing the finger at irresponsible credit card use for this debt.

"We use credit cards more than many European countries," said CCCS spokeswoman Frances Walker. "Bank of England figures show that outstanding balances on credit cards have gone up by 383% since 1994."

According to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service, the average client they get is about £33,000 in debt.

Another reason that the United Kingdom may have so much extra debt is because many consider the UK to be what is known as a “saturation point.”

Paul Marsh, a financial services analyst at Datamonitor, said, "The UK is an increasingly difficult place to do business, due to the highly indebted nature of the population. Yet in other European countries consumers are not as indebted and the markets are not as sophisticated."