High debts plague dole claimants

A report says jobless Britons are struggling under a mountain of debt they cannot finance.

Many people who are out of work and claiming benefits are saddled with the added pressure of debts they have little chance of repaying, new figures reveal.

One in eight people who contacted the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) for help with unsecured debts during the first half of 2010 were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA).

JSA claimants owe an average of £15,412 to five different creditors. If they somehow managed to use all of their JSA to repay the debts it would still take them more than four-and-a-half years to clear the debts, the CCCS said.

“There is a causal link between unemployment and debt,” said CCCS chairman Malcolm Hurlston.

“Unemployment can devastate the finances of any family and our experience shows that once somebody with few financial options is forced to take out a loan to cover living costs they are often then trapped in debt for years to come.”