New figures released by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) once again show the extent of Britain’s personal debt problems, with the number of people seeking help rising by 20%.

A total of 1.7m sought debt counselling in the last year, with the CAB themselves receiving 6,600 enquiries a day. While the usual suspects of credit cards and unsecured loans accounted for 40% of the debt enquiries, there was also a ‘worrying’ increase in people seeking help in paying day to day bills such as telephone and utilities.

Enquiry Rises in Detail

• Bankruptcy related - up 50%
• Energy bill related - up 33%
• Council tax - up 25%
• Overdraft related - 14%
• Mortgage problems - 11%

Commenting on the figures, a CAB representative called for banks and other finance providers to not extend further credit to people already struggling, and also to be more open to negotiation when people begin to experience problems.

The CAB also said it was looking for a further 5000 volunteers to help field the surge in enquiries.

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