02
February
2006
|
00:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Londoners most indebted in the country

London is the most indebted area of the UK while those in the South West enjoy the least debt burden of anywhere across the country according to research from credit monitoring service MyCallcredit.

Its research, which looked at key indebtedness indicators at a regional and town level, revealed the residents of East London and Uxbridge are the most indebted in the UK.

At the other end of the scale people who live in Dorchester and Salisbury are the least indebted people in the country.

MyCallcredit director Alison Nicholson says:

"The government and lenders are becoming increasingly concerned about families' levels of debt. Our research shows people living in East, South East and North London as well as Liverpool, Motherwell and Uxbridge are the most likely to be stretched financially.

From a lenders point of view this information helps them identify those customers who are more prone to financial difficulty based on their location. They can then add this to the information they already know and that being shared among lenders to make responsible lending decisions.

People who want to see the information of their credit file, and get an indication of how lenders would view any credit application can get a free trial of MyCallcredit's credit monitoring service by visiting www.myfreecreditreport.co.uk."

Key Findings
  • Uxbridge is the most overindebted town in the UK, followed by Liverpool, Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Birmingham.
  • Residents of London with an E, N or SE postcode fall in the top ten most indebted places in the UK.
  • Dorchester is the least indebted town in the UK followed by Salisbury, Bournemouth, Taunton, Bath and Oxford.
  • London as a whole has taken over from the North East as the most indebted area in the UK.
  • People who live in the South West of the UK are the least likely to be burdened by debt.

MyCallcredit created the indebtedness index by analysing consumers based on a number of debt indicators, including ones identified by the government's overindebtedness task force.

These include:

  • High outstanding credit balances.
  • High level of commitments, including mortgages, relative to income.
  • Accounts falling into arrears.
  • Frequent opening of new accounts.
  • Revolving credit agreements.
  • Employment levels.

Lenders can access the information through GeoDebt, one of Callcredit's business to business products.