Yorkshire folk clueless on debt

Yorkshire folk are the least likely to know how much money they owe but also some of the least likely to struggle with their levels of debt according to research by online credit report service MyCallcredit.

Its research reveals a quarter of people who live in Yorkshire hasn't got a clue how much they owe compared to one in five across the UK as a whole.

However, more than nine out of ten say they are comfortable with their debt repayments and only 1.5 per cent of people think they will be paying more than they are now to service their debts in a year's time.

MyCallcredit director Alison Nicholson says:

"Yorkshire has got one of the lowest numbers of people who are struggling with their debts and they generally don't see the situation getting worse over the next year.

But anyone who is finding it difficult to make ends meet needs to get help now before things get 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 (60.4 per cent) in Yorkshire have unsecured debts equal to the national average of six out of ten (60.2 per cent).
• Of the people in Yorkshire who have debts 96.5 per cent are comfortable with them, compared to 92.7 per cent nationally.
• One in four people in Yorkshire with unsecured debts admit they have no idea how much they owe.
• No-one in Yorkshire 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.
• Only 3.5 per cent of people in Yorkshire said their finances were a struggle compared to 11.3 per cent in the North East and 6.6 per cent 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.