Banks and building societies are writing off £20.71m of loans every day, according to the latest statistics from financial education charity Credit Action.
The charity’s debt statistics, which depict month-by-month trends, show that 829,000 people have been unemployed in the UK for more than 12 months and that £55,862 is the average household debt including mortgages.
As consumers begin to tighten their belts, focus on savings and consolidate debts, the figures also show that the Citizen’s Advice Bureaux are dealing with 9,072 new debt problems each working day, while 1,271 people are being made redundant daily.
Joanna Parsley, associate director at Credit Action, said: “July’s debt statistics show a mixed picture- one piece of good news is the number of people out of work for more than 12-month has fallen by 29,000, certainly bringing relief to those people as they look to budget.
“Yet both secured and unsecured lending have increased this month, lifting both the average amount owed by every UK adult to £29,839, and the average amount of debt per household to £55,862.”
Credit Action’s report also shows the extent of day to day financial pressures that consumers face. It reveals that £178m is the personal interest paid in UK daily and £68.05 is the amount it costs to fill a car with a 50-litre tank with unleaded petrol.
Parsley added: “It’s important that with outstanding debts, consumers are looking to clear balances as soon as possible, so they are not paying unnecessary interest to avoid seeing even less of their valuable incomes.”