Midlanders face debts of £6,000 before mortgage
THE average adult in the West Midlands owes nearly £6,000 – before they even start with the mortgage.
New research by the Midlands branch of R3, the insolvency trade body reveals that, on average, people in the region owe 11 weeks wages, without taking mortgages or student loans into account.
The figure also equates to nearly seven months’ average rent in the region and is above the national figure of £5,778.
The R3 survey, carried out in conjunction with ComRes, also found that 15 per cent of West Midlands adults owes £10,000 or more and five per cent owes £20,000 or more.
R3 Midlands chairman Chris Radford, a partner at Gateley in Birmingham, said: “The continued availability of cheap money and low levels of wage growth have contributed to a substantial proportion of people owing sizeable amounts of money. There is certainly a personal debt challenge to be overcome here in the West Midlands, and the latest national increase in personal insolvency figures suggest that people may be finding it harder to pay their debts.
“It is important to note that twoin-five adults in our region struggle from payday to payday.
“Monies owed could continue to build and get out of control if people don’t have extra funds left over at the end of the month to repay the principal debt.”
Mr Radford said the Government had to do more about the personal debt challenge in the UK.
He said: “The creditors’ petition level for bankruptcy has been increased from £750 to £5,000 while the Government has been considering a statutory ‘breathing space’ from creditor action for debtors.
“More attention, however, must be paid to encouraging people to seek early advice about unsustainable debt as this is the key way to prevent the escalation of financial struggles.”
It is important to note that two-infive adults in our region struggle from payday to payday R3 Midlands chairman Chris Radford