August 16, 2006

By Peter Kenny

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), a registered charity whose purpose is to help people in financial difficulty, has warned that people in their 50s are more at risk with debt problems than any other age group.

CCCS has over 155,000 clients and a recent survey found that the outstanding credit card debt was on average £12422 and normally this debt was spread over 3 credit cards. This figure shows an alarming rise of 50% in the last three years.

It was also discovered that even though credit card spending had dramatically slowed since 2005, people aged 53 – 59 were still spending more than they can afford. The same age group asking for advice from CCCS had increased from 19% to 23%.

A spokesman from CCCS said, “The Barclaycard generation, which has grown up with credit on tap, will need to learn how to turn off that tap before they are flooded with debt"

It is thought that with savings rates at a record low, this may have a detrimental effect on the options open to people when they want to spend. CCCS said many of its clients have turned to using credit cards for their spending due to the widespread offers of 0% introductory deals.

A disturbing part of the information released by CCCS was the news that one of its clients owed a total of £412,000. The 56 year old has a staggering 57 credit cards.

For more information on the Consumer Credit Counselling Service please visit their website http://www.cccs.co.uk