As the credit crunch tightens its' grip on the UK, more and more people in the last six months have not been able to meet their credit commitments despite quite substantial drops in interest rates during 2008. The figures reveal that the amount of people who are struggling to pay their dues and demands is as many as 1 out of 10.
And, the warnings, loud and clear, from the financial experts are that it is set to get far worse before it gets better, as the country goes deeper and deeper into recession. As already many millions of homeowners are battling with the constant pressure to stay on top of household bills and general day to day living, the experts say it is inevitable more bills will go unpaid in the foreseeable future.
MoneyExpert.com says that credit cards are the greatest problem for troubled borrowers contributing largely to the 5 million unpaid bills throughout the UK today.
Approximately 9% of the adult population admitted to missing a credit card payment in the half year up to September - that equates to 4 million credit card holders defaulting on payments.
During the same time, even more worrying, is the amount of people who have failed to make payments on personal loans. A staggering 1.3 million borrowers were unable to meet monthly payments in that time scale, compared to 859,000 in the six months running up to January of this year. That is a huge increase in a relatively short period of time.
"The credit crunch is having a painful effect on households who are struggling to meet their financial commitments, says Sean Gardner of Money-Expert.com, and he adds, "Interest rates may have been pushed down through 2008 but the increased pressures from rising food and energy bills mean that consumers are struggling to keep their heads above water. One late payment does not represent a financial meltdown but when it becomes a habit there is real room for concern. And the consequences, whether it's losing a service altogether or even ending up in court, can be very serious indeed."
It is reported that with the Woolwich and the HSBC raising their mortgage rates that it is very likely that other lenders will do the same, so those with a mortgage will feel even more pressurised to meet their monthly outgoings.
Anyone who will soon need to renew their fixed rate deal will find that their options are not so good and fixed rates have been increased by the Woolwich - their 10, 5 and 3 year fixed rate deals have been increased by 0.35%. And also the HSBC have increased 2, 3 and 5 year fixed rate deals for those with 10% deposits by 0.3%, which on a 150,000 pound mortgage amounts to an extra 300 pounds per year.
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