UK’s Top Five Debt

Bishops Stortford is ranked in the top five of the countries high debt areas. According to the survey it is the fifth area on the list to have the highest debt. The town used to be known as the affluent area between London and Cambridge. It has direct links to Standsted Airport. The survey has just come out reporting that Stortford is no longer the most affluent area with the rise of debt levels. The credit card debts, loans, and overdraft borrowing was used in the survey. The mortgages were removed from the survey to offer a fairer look at the top five places.

Along with Stortford on the list is Harlow, which is in fourth place. The amount of debt in Harlow as of 2008 is 429 million pounds and gives a rough per person debt of 4559 pounds on average. The figures have been released in the hopes of making consumers aware of just the situation they are in. With daily reminders on the news of the economy facing a fall and the effect it will have not only on the market, but also on consumers it is important to make the information known before it is too late.

The figures for the year have so far shown a 1.1 percent increase in debt since the last year. This is a historic level of debt and means the aforementioned average per person has risen by at least 50 pounds in 2008.

There is some good news though. Bishop’s Stortford is one of the towns with the lowest increase over the last year. This means that while they have the fifth largest debt amount, they are not increasing that amount to the degree of other places. Debts include mortgages, loans, HP, credit cards, and overdrafts when you consider the slow rate of debt growth.

These issues need to be addressed and some things have been done to help those in debt. Many companies are urging that if you are struggling to pay your council tax bill you are urged to contact the council. This will allow you more flexibility rather than the late fees and detriment to credit you could be bringing on yourself if you do nothing.

East Herts Citizens Advice Bureau or CAB is just another group trying to offer financial and legal advice to those who need it. They are trying to offer you information regarding the use of credit cards, store credit and charge cards. They want you as the consumer to be aware of the long term affects of having such credit can have on your life. CAB is one organisation trying to explore all options with their clients and to help end the situation before it becomes worse.

In Essex the average debt per person is 4700 pounds. This is actually one percent less than in 2007, so that means there is an 81 pound decrease in the debt in this area. As you can see there are many places suffering from debt issues.

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