HALF A MILLION PEOPLE SAY ...

HALF A MILLION PEOPLE SAY PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS AFFECTED BY DEBT

• Crisis of isolation’ warning

There are warnings about a crisis of isolation across Scotland, as new research suggests hundreds of thousands of people have seen their personal relationships impacted by debt.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) analysed polling from the research company YouGov and found that 64 per cent of people in debt in the past year say that their debt impacted their personal relationships.

Taking into account Scotland’s population estimates that works out to an estimated 500,817 people.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is running the “Stressed about Debt” campaign, which encourages people who are worried about their bills or stressed about debt to seek advice from the Citizens Advice network.

People can go to www.cas.org.uk/stressed and pick an advice route that works for them, such as online self-help tools, online advice pages or one to one advice from their local CAB.

The CAB service helps improve people’s financial situation and for some this includes debt write -off. Since last spring CABs have helped write off over £11 million worth of debt, with the average amount written off being over £12,600 per client.

CAS Financial Health spokesperson Myles Fitt said:      

“One of the worst things about debt worries is the feeling of isolation – many people don’t want to share their problems with family and friends and keep it bottled up until it is simply suffocating for them.

“Personal debt impacting on someone’s relationships means the loss of a support network. This may be the case for more than half a million people across Scotland which risks a crisis of isolation across the country.

“We want people who are stressed about their debts to seek advice and support from the Citizens Advice network. You don’t need to go to a CAB to get advice, instead you can check our online advice pages or use our interactive self-help tools.

“Many people find simply talking to someone about their issue and getting some reassurance that they aren’t alone is a huge relief and lifts a weight off their shoulders. CAB advisers don't judge, they just help.

“Our network gets real results for people – last year people who saw a gain having sought advice were more than £3,700 better off. Our advice is impartial, confidential and crucially free – we don’t charge for our advice and we never will.”