2.4 million Additional debt management enquiries

Staggering figures show the true demand for debt help in the UK...

The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) annual statistics reported that an additional 2.4 million enquiries for debt advice were received by its call centres in 2009 compared to 2008.

The CAB report shows that debt advice makes up 34 per cent of all enquiries received for the year; the largest topic of advice sought by CAB callers.

Compared to the previous year in 2009/10 debts owed to private bailiffs increased by 38 per cent. A total of 19,090 enquiries regarding private bailiffs were made compared to 13,845 the previous year.

Chief Executive of the CAB, David Harker said "We know from our frontline that the human impact of the recession is far from over for people who have lost their job or their home, or both, in the past two years. Yet, there are millions more people struggling with debt and poverty, or missing out on welfare benefits, that Citizens Advice Bureau want to be able to assist."

Between April 2009 and March 2010 the CAB advised on 7.1 million issues which is an increase of 18 per cent on the previous year. Enquiries regarding mortgage and secured loan arrears increased by 21 per cent over the same period.

David Harker continued "We were able to help more people last year thanks to some generous additional funding from the government and many local councils.”

"However much of this was short term, and our network of community based services, which rely on the generous help of 21,000 volunteers, may not be able to help as many people in future if funding is cut. It is absolutely vital that we are able to continue to provide the invaluable service we deliver to local communities without risk of major cuts.”

Craig Gedey at Debt Advisory Line said: “If government cuts are carried out people will still need professional debt management advice to help them find a solution based on their personal financial circumstances.”

“Getting reliable and helpful advice is key when speaking to any organisation about your debts. At www.debtadvisoryline.co.uk we understand how stressful debt can be and we offer advice on all financial solutions, specific to your needs.”

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