Debts of despair drive families to breaking point

Aug 22 2008 by Craig Robertson, Dumfries Standard Friday

Debts

A MULTI-MILLION pound mountain of debt has pushed hundreds of the region’s families to breaking point.

New figures revealed to the Standard illustrate the true extent of Dumfries and Galloway’s battle with the credit crunch.

A snapshot of just 1,014 local people who are being helped by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) show how they owe a massive £16million. They face losing homes, family breakdowns, ill health and bankruptcy, as they try to get out of trouble.

Christine Sinclair of the CAB’s Dumfries office in Irish Street, has warned many more will be struggling alone.

She said: “I think this is only the tip of the iceberg in Dumfries and Galloway. These are just the ones that come through our doors. There will be a lot of other people out there who are trying to manage it themselves. I would urge them to ask for help before it gets too much to deal with.

“We are dealing with 1,014 debt management cases in our offices at the moment which totals £16million but the real figure of problem debt in the region could be double that.”

The Dumfries CAB office has a bulging filing cabinet full of cases waiting for debt management appointments. In Dumfries alone, the problem debt bill for their active cases is £10.5m.

“When someone comes to see us, we find out what the situation is and if it is an emergency then we fit them in straight away,” said Christine. “But generally there is a four to six-week wait for one of our advisors. That is definitely up over the last year as we used to have quiet times in summer and at Christmas but it’s just constant all the time now.”

According to CAB’s figures, the range of debt stretches from the relatively small amount of £1,500 on a credit card to someone with around £200,000 worth of bills.

Out of the 1,014 currently active cases from the CAB offices in Dumfries, Castle Douglas, Annan and Stranraer, 29 people have debts of more than £50,000.

And another 19 people are at risk of having their homes repossessed with many more being forced to sell up and move to smaller houses to pay off debts.

Christine said: “We have some cases where there is a very small amount but in terms of the person’s income, they are unable to afford it.

“Other people who have larger debts may have got into trouble after an illness, losing their job or a family breakdown and they just can’t afford to pay their bills any more or some may have been on a fixed rate mortgage which has ended and they can no longer afford the repayments.

“We are also seeing a lot more elderly people coming in to see us who are not only struggling to pay increased fuel bills but are retiring and are seeing a big drop in income.”

She added: “These problems are increasing because of the credit crunch as credit is no longer so easily available.”

For advice on debt problems contact the DGCAS at 81-85 Irish Street on 01387 252456.