Citizens Advice Bridlington: 'January is busiest time for debt worries'
It's because of the Christmas overspend
Citizens Advice in Bridlington says January is its busiest time for people coming to them with debt worries.
It is because of the "Christmas overspend" and credit card bills are likely to be higher than any other month.
Ray Davies, project leader at the specialist debt team at Citizens Advice in Bridlington, said: "There's some very, very serious debt problems and some hopefully with a bit of work can be turned around. January is basically where people aren't looking forward to their credit card bill because it's likely to be a big one after the Christmas period. The end of January and the start of February is our busiest time by far.
"It's really talking about the Christmas overspend really so the credit card bill, or the balance, is likely to be higher in January than any other month. People have tried to have a reasonable time over Christmas but now have the headache of wondering how they will pay for it.
"My advice would be to seek advice. Please don't struggle on your own. There are lots and lots of practical things that we can make people's situations so much better. We would look at all debt that they have got, because some debts are more important than others, we'll look at people's finances and what they can afford and take it from there.
"There's a lot of positive impact that we can have for people who've got debt problems. The amount of times that myself and my case workers in an interview, where someone would come in, looking at the floor and not feeling very good about themselves and by the end of that hour, they're looking so much better. They would genuinely turn around and tell us that.
"We take away the myths and we explain the differences between what they think can happen to them about their debts and what actually can; because many of our clients have got relatively low income, not a great deal of assets and so the options for them are quite wide."