Northern Ireland identified as debt hotspot


A new report by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has found that Northern Ireland is one of the UK's personal debt hotspots, with the charity saying it deals with more bankruptcy cases in the country compared to anywhere else in the UK.

The report shows that the outgoings of many people in Northern Ireland are in excess of their income, and spokesperson Una Farrell advised of a culture of people not asking for debt advice and guidance until the problem was already very serious; often waiting until a debt recovery or debt collection process has been initiated against them. Ms Farrell took care to dispel the "myths around why people get into debt", which is often attributed to "overspending", saying "this is not always the case".

"In most cases it is an income shock, maybe people have lost their job through redundancy or have had a marital breakdown", she advised.

Based on the number of requests received for debt advice, the number of insolvency recommendations, and the disposable income levels of those who approached the charity, Northern Ireland and London were identified as the two biggest cluster areas of debt; London having the highest demand for debt advice, and Northern Ireland the highest bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangement (ICA) recommendations.

If you live in Northern Ireland and require debt advice contact Wilson Nesbitt solicitors in Belfast by email at debt@wilson-nesbitt.com .



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