More than a quarter of people are behind with at least one bill
Citizens Advice has published research
Citizens Advice is suggesting more than a quarter (27 percent) of people are behind with at least one bill.
According to the charity, just over a fifth (21 percent) of people in the last six months have borrowed money to pay for essentials, such as groceries.
Claire Daniels is from the money advice team at the Rainbow Centre in Scarborough. She said: "I'd say it's been steady over this year but the problem is that we're coming back into the season of needing heating on. Normally by now summer bills would have mitigated for higher winter usage but that hasn't really happened, so people are going into winter already in arrears, so that's going to compound the energy cost price so people are going to be struggling.
"Energy, water and council tax are still probably the most common but credit debt is still really high up there bceause people are now not able to afford their credit debt because they're trying to pay for the energy bills, so one struggle compounds another struggle so it all kind of evens out.
"The increase in homeowners and people working full-time has been increasing I'd say steadily over the last 18 months or so. I didn't use to see people that were homeowners at all and probably 30 percent or so are about now. I'd say a typical client is now more likely to be working than just on benefit income.
"I work in Scarborough where lots of people are in seasonal work and because of the extra costs they haven't been able to save over the summer, so they're going into the winter with a low benefit income but still with council tax bills and things because they've been working. For homeowners, it can be quite difficult to find a solid debt solution if they haven't got much money leftover.
"As soon as the mortgage rates started to increase, we know that was going to become a major problem. We've lived for years on low interest rates and thinking we could all afford mortgages then suddenly it's gone up massively in the last year. People just can't afford it and with working, wages just haven't increased in line with inflation.
"If you're on benefits and so you're going to get cost of living payments some time in Autumn, really think about how you're going to use that; either use it on bills or use it as your Christmas money. I'd also say get advice and help earlier erather than later because there's always something we can do, even if that's talking to your creditors."
For more information and help, visit the Rainbow Money website or The Rainbow Centre website.
The research
Citizens Advice said that energy debts and council tax arrears are the most commonly encountered problem debt - with half (50%) of people helped by
Citizens Advice reporting one or both of these debts.
The charity said it has been dealing with increasing numbers of people with a negative budget - with more money going out than coming in.
Currently, the average person the charity helps with debt is £28 in the red at the end of the month while, four years ago, they had a surplus of £21.
Mortgage holders and people in employment are among the newer groups of people the charity said are approaching it for help.
It is helping nearly 40,000 people every month with debt issues, with those requiring help increasing 21% between the second and third quarters of 2023.
Current systems contain too many traps and hurdles for people in debt to get a fresh start, the charity said.
It added that, for example, if someone misses just one council tax payment they can become liable for a whole year's bill, a scenario which may lead to bailiffs knocking at their door.
High levels of benefit deductions can also eat away at people's income pushing them into debt, it said.
Citizens Advice is calling for reforms to how debt is collected and managed so that people can pay back what they owe in an affordable way.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "We're now seeing the levels of debt we feared and the picture is only set to get worse
"Millions of people are doing their best to balance the books but the numbers simply don't add up.
"Too many people are living on empty, unable to pay their bills or even put food on the table.
"Current systems are stacked against people in debt, instead we need an approach that offers more support and realistic routes out of debt.
"We need to see reforms that will have a tangible impact."
Citizens Advice used a survey by Walnut Unlimited among more than 4,200 people across the UK in June for part of its research.