With a debt mountain of £1.5 trillion, many consumers are struggling to pay off their loans, cards and mortgages.
Debt levels among Britain's middle classes are reaching near-unprecedented levels, a major financial inclusion forum claimed today.
According to Transact, the general economic downturn being suffered in the UK at the moment has been a direct factor behind more and more people seeking out debt advice. The organisation's own analysis suggested that the middle classes - who typically have larger debts and "more complex" personal finances - are being hit particularly hard.
The claims are borne out by the release of recent figures from charity Credit Action, which regularly reports on the extent of personal debts borne by UK consumers. The research found that the typical household has still to pay back unsecured debts - such as credit cards and loans - of £10,000 each and that total debts go up to £60,000 a household if mortgages are included.
Total personal debts in the UK were found to approach £1.5 trillion.
Adam Clark, head of Transact, said: "As the recession hits harder, Transact members are reporting increasing numbers of middle-income clients seeking debt advice. These individuals typically have higher levels of debt and more complex borrowings than typical free debt advice clients.
"As redundancies increase and more households slip into mortgage arrears, we expect to see more people facing debt crises."
UK economic output declined by 1.9 percent over the first quarter of 2009, according to official government figures. The same survey found a 1.6 percent drop over the last quarter of 2008 - signifying that the pace of the downturn is increasing.
