Consumer debt rising at fastest rate in a decade

The charity’s figures show that the UK’s total personal debt has risen to almost £1.5 trillion, a rise of over £50 billion in a year.

The average owed by each adult is now more than £29,600.

Around £2,400 of that is on credit cards, which, at typical rates of interest, would take 25 years to clear if only the minimum payment was made each month.

The charity said that if the current rate of growth keeps up for the whole of 2016, each adult will owe an average of £271 more on their credit cards, personal loans and others forms of consumer debt.

On average, every adult in the UK has £3,629 of this kind of debt, up from £3,171 at the end of 2013.

Although this is still below the high point of consumer credit in 2008, the sustained growth may place many consumers in precarious financial positions.

Just over a third of this debt, £64.4 billion, is on credit cards.

Per household we owe £2,387 on cards – for a credit card bearing the average interest; it would take 25 years and 6 months to repay if you made only the minimum repayment each month.

Debt Advisory Centre spokeswoman Melanie Taylor said: “Debt isn’t just a financial crisis – it impacts almost every part of people’s lives, from their health to their relationships.”