In Focus Consumer Credit The aftermath of Christmas
For many, Christmas is not a time of financial cheer, but help is at hand
Dawn Stobart Director of external affairs, Christians Against Poverty
dawnstobart@capuk.org
Christmas is now a distant memory; the trees have come down and presents have been put away. January is often a month of resolutions, new endeavours and a time to look over finances ahead of the year to come. But, for many, the outlook may be bleak. The pressure to spend in the run up to
Christmas is hard to avoid, yet can often be unaffordable. Reports in December, from the Money Advice Trust, suggested that 37% of the population relied on credit to get them through the Christmas period. This is why January is commonly earmarked as the most expensive month, as people begin to pay back credit cards and overdrafts.
The most wonderful time of the year? For Diane and Dougie, a couple from the North West, Christmas, before our help, was the worst time of year. “We had nothing; no food in the house, no gas, no electric. We could not even afford a little something for the grandchildren, which was the most upsetting.” It was found, in our most recent client
survey, that before our help, 80% of clients were unable to afford Christmas due to their debt. Parents being unable to afford gifts for their children, providing a grandiose Christmas meal, or simply covering the cost of heating a home over the winter, are all real pressures seen in the UK today. The good news is that, for those working
with us, 52% felt they were able to afford the additional costs of Christmas. However, those working to repay debts with us can still find Christmas to be a time of financial pressure, tight budgets, and few luxuries. For many clients, we were able to provide Christmas hampers. Each year we run an appeal to raise money to help provide these hampers; this winter was no different. Along with the local church, we could provide 43%
January 2018
of clients with a hamper, containing some of the gifts and indulgences that people in debt may have had to forgo in this time period.
‘No-one wanted me around’ For many, Christmas is not solely about receiving gifts and overindulging, many relish time spent with family and friends. Monica, a single pensioner with learning difficulties, sadly has no family or friends. She explained that no-one wanted to have her around at Christmas. Socially isolated, a mixture of low income and severe learning difficulties meant she got herself into debt. Our Christmas hamper was the highlight of her Christmas. Now, in the aftermath of the festive season,
the rose-tinted glasses have come off and reality sets in. January is consistently the busiest month for our New Enquiries team. The team receives incoming telephone calls from those needing help on the freephone helpline number; January 2017 saw an increase of 67% in calls from December 2016. With the increased levels of consumer credit and reports that say one in three parents used credit cards to buy presents this Christmas, it is anticipated that January 2018 will be no different.
Where does that leave us? Although January often sees a spike in people calling for help, there are still millions more people in the UK struggling to get by. The Money Advice Service estimates that there are 8.3 million over-indebted people in the UK and yet only a fifth of those have sought or are seeking debt advice. One of the largest obstacles for advisers
is the stigma attached to being in debt and the resulting hesitation to seek help. Our statistics show 63% of people felt they were able to handle their debts alone and for 49%
www.CCRMagazine.co.uk
January is often a month of resolutions, new endeavours and a time to look over finances ahead of the year to come. But, for many, the outlook may be bleak
embarrassment or shame was a factor. For 43% of people, thinking no-one could help was a factor, and 27% were fearful. Conversations in January are often about
Christmas overspending, providing a great opportunity to speak openly about financial pressures, reduce the stigma of debt, and offer encouragement to seek help. We all need to play our part in reducing the stigma associated with debt and signpost people in financial hardship to free debt advice. CCR
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