Rise In Men Seeking Debt Advice During 2010

We are often asked who has the biggest debt problems – men or women?

It’s a hot topic, and earlier this year we reported on the Government’s insolvency statistics, which indicated a surge in the number of females facing insolvency during the course of the last decade. However, judging by the calls we’ve received during 2010 it looks like this trend could be changing.

Although we’ve had slightly more requests for help from females this year, we’ve actually seen a significant rise in the number of men contacting us for debt advice.

Despite the proportion of males becoming insolvent (Bankruptcy, IVA or DRO) having reduced by 20 per cent versus females over the past ten years, it appears that 2010 has been a particularly tough year for men, with more seeking help for their debt problems.

Worryingly, we’ve also found that men will often delay asking for help and usually have higher levels of debt when they call us. Many have already reached crisis-point when they speak to us, which can limit the debt solutions available to them.

Our advice to men and women is to ask for help as soon as possible and don’t let the problem to spiral out of control. Free advice and support is available from our helpline team 0800 043 40 50, as well as our online self-help pages.