Insolvency and UK’s Battle Against Debt

The credit crisis that currently grips the UK shows no sign of abating and the sheer size of debt in the country is astronomical. Insolvency numbers are expected to rise as debt levels have tripled over the last decade. Licensed insolvency practitioners are preparing to help thousands of struggling people solve their debt problems.

The current financial state of the UK doesn’t make pleasant viewing and it is affecting consumers up and down the country. Insolvency levels are fully expected to reach record highs this year and a report has shown that young people are amongst the most financially vulnerable in the UK due to the level of debt that they have accrued.

Insolvency – The debt cycle

Financial experts often suggest that an individual voluntary arrangement is a good way for people with high levels of debt to tackle their problems. Debt problems in the UK are getting to the stage where the threat of insolvency or bankruptcy looms large over a vast proportion of the population. The studies conducted by building societies discovered that apart from rent and mortgages, interest upon debts has become the largest single outgoing for those under 35. This invariably leads to spiralling debts and insolvency may occur for many who find repayments impossible. However, those within the financial industry have seen individual voluntary arrangements successfully guide many away from the precipice of debt.

The credit card culture of consumers in the UK has seen levels of debt reach unsustainable levels. The financial fallout from this will be record numbers of insolvency in 2012 as people struggle to stay on top of their finances and become unable to meet the repayments demanded by their creditors. In many cases, individuals will opt for an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) in order to solve their monetary woes and stave off the threat of insolvency.

Insolvency – A Numbers Game

The sheer scale of debt in the UK is testament to the spending culture of Briton’s and has reached a point at which it becomes impossible for the lending to continue in such an unrestricted manner. By the end of the second quarter of 2007, the size of consumer debt in the UK was an unprecedented £1.345 trillion, which outstripped the annual gross domestic product by some £15 billion. This financial discrepancy will have the effect of increasing the number of insolvency cases in the UK as people can no longer sustain their spending levels. An IVA is often utilised by those in debt as it can ward off the threat of bankruptcy and it is a legally binding contract between the individual and their creditors to pay back their debt at a level within their means.

Insolvency – Taking Financial Risks

The levels of debt in the UK and the way in which people spend at a level beyond their means is causing a massive debt gulf which will swallow a record number this year as insolvency levels are set to skyrocket. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mark Allen, a financial expert spoke of the precarious situation of people’s personal finance, “It's not uncommon these days to see some individuals with unsecured debt upwards of £50,000 spread across four or five credit cards and a mortgage on top of that. These people are balancing on a perilous tightrope”. As insolvency levels reach record levels, the numbers who see an individual voluntary arrangement as the ideal solution to their debt woes is likely to increase exponentially and many will return to financial security as a result.