Bank News

Consumers in rural areas 'may be missing out on debt advice'

People who live in rural areas of England may be missing out on debt advice, it has been suggested.

According to the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), demand for help in managing family finances has increased faster in such areas than it has in towns and cities, yet there are relatively few government advisors operating in rural locations.

The commission claimed that insolvency and bankruptcy cases are higher in rural parts of Britain.

In its monthly report, the CRC called on the government to expand its advisory services so that people can seek help quicker before their problems get worse.

It said: "New groups of society are seeking debt advice as a result of the recession and traditionally vulnerable groups such as the self-employed and older people are creating a stronger demand in rural areas."

Established in April 2005, the CRC aims to provide informed, independent advice to the government concerning the needs of people living and working in rural parts of England.

Affluent areas 'seeing rising debt problems'

People living in affluent areas of the UK are not immune from the ongoing economic problems and are seeing rising levels of debt, it has been suggested.

According to Transact, the recession and the increase in unemployment which has accompanied it have seen white collar workers in the service sector hit particularly hard, the Daily Mail reports.

The organisation states that some consumers owe more than £100,000 on credit cards and loans.

Meanwhile, people living in wealthy areas, such as Surrey, are increasingly calling on debt advice centres for assistance.

One such centre in Congleton, Cheshire has reportedly seen an increase of 130 per cent in the demand from consumers struggling with debt problems.

Figures produced last month by the Insolvency Service revealed that there were a total of 29,774 individual insolvencies in England and Wales during the first three months of this year.

This represented a rise of 19 per cent on the first quarter of last year.