The Press Association: '35% rise in mortgage debt advice'

Citizens Advice said staff at its bureaux in England and Wales had seen a 35% increase in people contacting them for help with the issue in January and February compared with the same months of 2007. They are also seeing a continuing rise in the number of people facing problems paying for basic essentials such as gas, electricity, water and telephone bills and council tax.

A survey of nearly three-quarters of Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales showed they had dealt with 215,000 new debt problems during the first two months of 2008 alone. The group said the increase reflected the recent rises in the cost of living and suggested growing numbers of people were having problems keeping up with essential household bills. Teresa Perchard, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: "It is a worrying trend that our bureaux are reporting a very sharp increase in the number of mortgage arrears problems they are dealing with.

These latest figures paint a worrying picture, suggesting a significant number of households are struggling to meet their most basic living costs. The combination of big increases in household bills, especially fuel, and rising housing costs is putting additional pressure on people's finances when they are already stretched to the limit."

The group said debt problems relating to credit, store and charge cards still remained the largest category of debt problems it dealt with although, unusually for the time of year, credit card-related debt problems had fallen by 9%, although those involving overdrafts were up by almost 7% year on year. Debt is now the most common issue on which Citizens Advice gives help, accounting for nearly one in three of all inquiries it receives. Hosted by Copyright © 2008 The Press Association.

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