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14 July 2006
More and more people are likely to be refused credit as Britain's debt crisis worsens, a new report has warned.
Britons now owe more than £1.2 trillion in credit cards, loans, overdrafts and mortgages, and this figure is likely to rise.
Around 9.1 million people were systematically refused credit by mainstream lenders in 2005 due to being unemployed, having county court judgements against them or having previously defaulted on repayments, said market analyst Datamonitor.
This figure is likely to rise to 9.4 million as people increasingly have trouble coping with their debts.
"Consumers have accumulated a significant amount of personal debt and they are now increasingly vulnerable to economic upsets," said the report's author, Maya Imberg.
The report said that the number of people being systematically refused credit by mainstream lenders had declined in the past few years due to lenders relaxing their lending criteria, as well as a strong economy.
However, numbers reached a "turning point" in 2005 after weaker economic growth and rising levels of unemployment.
If you are affected by debt and have been refused credit, order a copy of your credit report and see what lenders see.
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