Companies that offer personal loans have been advised to treat their customers in a "sympathetic" manner if they are unable to make repayments on time.
Some lenders fail to communicate with their clients, even via the telephone, rather than opening negotiations to help facilitate the repayment of personal loans, said a spokesperson for Citizens Advice.
In some cases, the expert noted, Citizens Advice acts on the client's behalf to begin discussions with these personal loan providers.
Many customers who take out personal loans genuinely believe that they will be able to repay the money, with incidents such as divorce, illness or job loss damaging these prospects and leaving them in financial peril, the spokesperson maintained.
"The evidence that we have is that a lot of our clients go into it absolutely considering the options. They don't expect to not be able to pay it," she remarked.
Last week the Bank of England's monetary policy committee opted to raise the base rate of interest, a move that will adversely affect many customers with personal loans, credit cards, mortgages or other forms of debt, by raising the necessary levels of repayment.






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