Consumer debts lead to increase in county court judgements

10 June 2007

The rising level of consumer debt in the UK has seen the number of insolvencies smash through the one hundred thousand barrier over recent months.

Households in the UK are trying to juggle rising credit card, loan, store card, and other unsecured debts, and with rising interest rates pushing up mortgage repayments more and more people are starting to feel the financial pinch. Lenders have seen their bad debt levels go through the roof, with consumers unable to keep up with repayments on loans, credit cards, etc.

As a result of this county court judgements for debt have rocketed recently, as lenders are now coming down hard on defaulters because of the high levels of bad debt that they are facing. The number of county court judgements for unpaid debts is at its highest for the past decade according to reports, with just under a quarter of a million judgements between January and March of 2007.

If these figures continue a million borrowers in the UK could be facing county court action over the course of this year. Those receiving such judgements could find themselves at the receiving end of bailiff action, where their personal belongings are taken in order to be sold off, with the proceeds going towards paying off at least part of the monies owed to creditors. The figures relating to the number of county court judgements were published by the Registry Trust.