The Covid affect on the UK population is definitely the tale of 2 halves. According to The Money Charity who report monthly of finance statistics – 87% of those who earn over £50,000 receive full pay for being off work due to illness. However, only 34% of those who earn up to £15,000 per year receive full pay when off work sick.
The lockdown has created a divide in the country, with some households seeing cuts to income, job losses or being furloughed, while others are seeing their finances benefit from an enforced halt to much of their spending.
According to research by Citizens Advice there are 6 million people who are struggling to pay their bills. One in ten of them cannot afford to buy food. Citizens Advice has set up a very useful webpage on what help is available. Click here to go to the web page which covers:-
- Help with debts and a guide to free debt advice that is available through CAB and other charities
- How to maximize your income and claim benefits
- Access to free school meals
- Help from your local council with living costs
- Check if you can pay less council tax
- How to get help with paying bills
- Guidance on overdrafts and how you should not pay interest on the first £500
The other side of the tale is consumer credit lending totaled £207.9 Billion in July 2019 and is £14.4 billion lower than in July 2019. The credit card debt total of £62.3 BN is £10.1 BN lower than 12 months ago. During lockdown people had limited opportunities to spend and have wisely paid down debt.
Figures from the Bank of England show £7.4bn of consumer credit was repaid during the first full month of the Covid-19 lockdown, the largest net repayment since records began in 1993.
The Bank said £5 billion worth of credit card debt was paid off in April, more than double the previous month and much more than the typical £300 million paid back each monthly by consumers.
Who can you talk to about debt Issues?
Knowing you owe money that you cannot afford to repay can be very scary. The problem will not go away and will only get worse if you ignore the problem. Don’t panic, it’s important that you look after yourself and keep calm.
The Debt Advisor has been in existence for 20 years and we have gained a reputation as the “go to” practice for debt advice and debt solutions and most importantly, we are authorised and regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority “FCA”.
The FCA register will let you know if the organisation has permission to provide debt advice and are able to help with debt adjusting which is the ability to negotiate with your creditors.
Get Debt Advice Today
For full debt advice and whether any of our available debt solutions would be the best option for you to get out of debt, you can speak to one of our advisors directly on 0800 085 1825 or arrange a callback.
The Debt Advisor Ltd is regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority. This means we are able to offer debt advice and deliver both formal and informal solutions. All debt solutions need to be carefully considered and you must take independent debt advice. We hope that the information and debt advice on this site including Frequently Asked Questions, will help inform you.
There are sources of free debt advice and services. You can find out more by contacting the Money Advice Service on 0800 138 7777 or by visiting their website.
