07
June
2006
|
00:00
Europe/Amsterdam

North West optimistic about debt

Residents of the North West are more optimistic than anywhere else in the country that they will have reduced the monthly amount they pay to service unsecured debts in twelve months time according to research from online credit report service MyCallcredit.

Its research also revealed six out of ten people in the North East have unsecured debts and more than nine out of ten said they were comfortable with those debts.

However, 6.8 per cent of people in the region did admit their debts were a struggle compare to just 3.5 per cent in Yorkshire.

MyCallcredit director Alison Nicholson says:

"People in the North East overall appear to be more comfortable with their debts than average and confident that some of them will be paid off in a years time.

Although for a significant minority things are a struggle and these people need to get help before the problem gets any worse.

In addition the industry needs to continue developing more responsible lending practices, like introducing true affordability checks at the time a credit application is made, and individuals need to take stock of their overall financial position to make sure they are applying for credit responsibly."

Key Findings
  • Six out of ten people (62.2per cent) in the North West have unsecured debts equal to the national average of six out of ten (60.2 per cent).
  • Of the North Westerners who have debts 93.2 per cent are comfortable with them compared to 92.7 per cent nationally.
  • One in five people in the North East with unsecured debts admit they have no idea how much they owe.
  • No-one in the North East said they were out of their depth with their debts compared to 1.6 per cent in Scotland and 2.1 per cent in the Midlands.
  • Nearly three in ten people living in the North West said they expected to be spending less of their monthly income on unsecured debts in a years time compared to two in ten nationally.
Editors notes
  1. The research was carried out for MyCallcredit by NEMS market research among 1001 adults between 18 May and 25 May 2006.