New figures from the Insolvency Service have revealed record levels of personal insolvencies in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2009. 35,242 people were made insolvent during the third quarter – a 6.6 per cent increase on the previous quarter and a hefty 28 per cent increase on the same quarter of 2008.
There has been a trend of rising personal insolvencies since the start of the credit crunch at the end of 2007. With a vast number of people losing their jobs in the UK as a result of the economic downturn, borrowers have struggled to repay their debts, as the credit crunch has made it hard to secure personal loans or other credit forms with reasonable interest rates . Meanwhile, the decline of the property market has meant consumers may not be able to draw on equity or sell their homes in order to pay off their debt.
In more positive news, there was a 4.7 per cent quarterly decline in the number of business liquidations . 4,716 businesses went under in the third quarter, and although this figure remains 14.6 per cent higher than the same period of 2008, it marks a much needed improvement on the second quarter of 2009.






Paying Too Much?