Wealthy areas see debt increase

Debt is fast becoming a problem that is affecting all classes, with easy credit available to everyone, whatever their income. Loans for thousands of pounds were regularly approved for people with little or no income, while wealthier applicants had access to even larger sums.

Years of haphazard lending have led to a global financial crash and we have seen levels of unmanageable debt escalate. For the first time specialists in debt are seeing the majority of their clients come from wealthy areas and owe unprecedented amounts of money.

Traditionally very wealthy areas in Kent and Surrey have reported as much as a 130 per cent increase in the number of residents requesting help with managing their debts. Those on higher incomes have found that they have access to huge amounts of money based on their sizeable income and borrowing can easily spiral out of control.

The high profile case of the father and wealthy businessman who killed himself and his family, including his daughter and their pets, demonstrates the devastating impact which debt can have in extreme cases.

A spokesman for Transact member Community Money Advice said “We are seeing a higher percentage of middle and higher income clients who are struggling because of redundancy or the inability to manage their mortgage repayments, often alongside multiple credit card debts.”

He added that he expects the number of people struggling with debt to rise over the course of the year, as more redundancies are expected and those who are currently scraping by will find that they are no longer able to cope.

With debt affecting so many and contributing to a failing economy and rising levels of depression, many are calling for financial education to become a compulsory part of the curriculum. In the meantime it is left up to charities such as Debt Doctors Foundation UK to hold educational days at local school and teach children about money management