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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20081011/tuk-uk-bankruptcy-every-five-minutes-45dbed5.html
UK Bankruptcy Every Five Minutes
By Sky News SkyNews - Saturday, October 11 05:38 am
The credit-fuelled party is over and, for many Britons, that means the mother of all hangovers.
After a decade of binging on borrowed money and dining out on debt, consumers are now paying a heavy price.
According to the debt charity Credit Action, one person is declared bankrupt or insolvent every five minutes in the UK.
Every day, 104 properties are repossessed and the average household debt is £9,500 (excluding mortgages).
According to Roger Bootle, the managing director of Capital Economics, the way banks lend money has changed forever.
He said: "The financial landscape will never be the same again. We've passed through a major event which is on a par of much of what occurred in the 1920s and 30s leading up to the Great Depression.
"We've been through a period when the financial markets went bonkers and remarkably central banks and governments allowed them to and many of us were caught up in this."
The number of people seeking debt help from Citizens Advice has increased by more than a third in the last 12 months.
Most people do not realise how much debt they are in. Even those who know they are in trouble, are often reluctant to seek help. Advisors stress that ignoring debt is the worst thing people can do.
Alex MacDermott, policy officer at Citizens Advice, said: "Come and get advice as early as possible. There are lots of ways we can help. We can make sure you're getting all your benefits and tax credits.
"There is something like £9.9 billion of means-tested benefits which went unclaimed last year so there's certainly a lot of money that people are missing out on.
"We would then look at prioritising your debts, so we'd look at making your mortgage payments, your council tax, your fuel payments a top priority to make sure you don't get cut off or evicted from your property. Then we'd look at rescheduling any other debts out of what's left over."
UK Bankruptcy Every Five Minutes
By Sky News SkyNews - Saturday, October 11 05:38 am
The credit-fuelled party is over and, for many Britons, that means the mother of all hangovers.
After a decade of binging on borrowed money and dining out on debt, consumers are now paying a heavy price.
According to the debt charity Credit Action, one person is declared bankrupt or insolvent every five minutes in the UK.
Every day, 104 properties are repossessed and the average household debt is £9,500 (excluding mortgages).
According to Roger Bootle, the managing director of Capital Economics, the way banks lend money has changed forever.
He said: "The financial landscape will never be the same again. We've passed through a major event which is on a par of much of what occurred in the 1920s and 30s leading up to the Great Depression.
"We've been through a period when the financial markets went bonkers and remarkably central banks and governments allowed them to and many of us were caught up in this."
The number of people seeking debt help from Citizens Advice has increased by more than a third in the last 12 months.
Most people do not realise how much debt they are in. Even those who know they are in trouble, are often reluctant to seek help. Advisors stress that ignoring debt is the worst thing people can do.
Alex MacDermott, policy officer at Citizens Advice, said: "Come and get advice as early as possible. There are lots of ways we can help. We can make sure you're getting all your benefits and tax credits.
"There is something like £9.9 billion of means-tested benefits which went unclaimed last year so there's certainly a lot of money that people are missing out on.
"We would then look at prioritising your debts, so we'd look at making your mortgage payments, your council tax, your fuel payments a top priority to make sure you don't get cut off or evicted from your property. Then we'd look at rescheduling any other debts out of what's left over."
