Abacus Daily Debt News

Brits ‘aiming to become debt free’

Consumers are increasingly working to become debt free in the current economic climate, an expert has noted.

Neil Munroe, external affairs director at Equifax, explained that people are choosing to spend what they have rather than borrowing.

It comes after Apacs - the UK payments association - revealed that credit card lending in the first quarter of the year stood at £30.3 billion, while repayments reached £29.6 billion.

Mr Munroe explained that Britons are becoming more aware of the potential problems they may face in repaying debt, choosing to limit their exposure as a result.

"Maybe there is an expectation that their job may not be as secure as it was and therefore people don’t want to be caught out with no job and [high] borrowing still," he said.

Recent statistics from Credit Action indicated that the average household in the UK with an unsecured loan owes £21,580, excluding mortgages.