The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers.
Every Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity reliant on trained volunteers and funds to provide these vital services for local communities.
Regulators and business must do more to stop soaring debt, Citizens Advice money conference will be told |
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Regulators and businesses must do more to halt soaring levels of personal debt, according to national charity Citizens Advice. Its bureau network dealt with 1.7 million debt problems last year (2006/07), an all-time record high and an increase of 20% on the previous year. The call for action on irresponsible lending is expected at the first ever Citizens Advice money conference – ‘Helping People Make the Most of their Money’ - being held today (Wednesday 6 November) at Westminster Hall in London. Director of Public Policy Teresa Perchard will tell the 150-strong audience that Citizens Advice Bureaux are working hard to help more people tackle their debt problems. They are also developing more new services to help prevent debt, such as providing financial planning advice and improving people’s skills, understanding and confidence in managing money matters. “But we need more help from regulators and businesses,” she will say. “Time and time again we come across people in desperate straits who need not be there if the firm who lent them money had acted responsibly on day one. And while some regulators have taken action on scandals like the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI), others seem to be asleep on the job.” In her speech, she will warn that after the collapse of Farepak and the problems at Northern Rock, consumer confidence in the financial services market has hit an all time low. With total UK personal debt standing at £1.3 trillion, she is expected to identify personal finance and debt is one of the biggest issues facing the UK economy. Cases reported by Citizens Advice Bureaux include a lone parent with a disabled child on income support who got into financial difficulties and went to her bank for help. She was given a loan of £17,800 with repayments of £370 per month, and sold payment protection for an additional £6,000 at 11%APR. The total to repay was £35,334. In another case, a pensioner who had developed severe mental health problems following the death of her husband began spending heavily and over a ten year period acquired a total of 25 personal loans and credit card debts totalling £135,000. There appeared to have been no checks on her ability to repay and the more she borrowed the more was offered to her. The burden of all the debt became too much for her and she tried to commit suicide. Notes to editors:
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