Lincolnshire debt cases double in the last three weeks compared to 2022
A Citizens Advice branch covering Mid Lincolnshire is also seeing far more people with severe money issues, with the top issues being credit cards and council tax
Last updated 2nd Feb 2023
A Lincolnshire branch of Citizens Advice says hundreds of people are coming to them because they're struggling with energy bills. The last 3 weeks has seen the numbers asking for advice with debts from the mid Lincolnshire branch overall more than double compared to last year and many of those are experiencing really serious issues.
A Lincolnshire branch of Citizens Advice says they're seeing an "alarming" increase in the number of people coming to them with severe debt.
The last three weeks alone has seen the mid Lincolnshire branch advising more than double the number of people compared to 2022. Many of those have debts described as the worst case scenario.
Money Advice Care Worker, Clare Staunton, tells us more:
"Individuals find themselves in debt because of many reasons, that could be a loss of job, for example, redundancy problems with benefits, illness, long term illness, short term illness, mental health, bereavement, relationship breakdowns and at the moment, the cost of living and fuel costs have risen so dramatically, it can be quite challenging to juggle your income, many finding that they're outgoings are now more than the money they have coming in.
"It can be quite overwhelming to then be faced with demand letters coming in and these can come across as quite scary as well, and we expect to see a higher level of credit card debt at this time of year, as the credit card statements are due to come in, and many will have relied on their cards to get through Christmas, because they've struggled with the income that they have coming in.
"It's just not enough to cover the high demands of the cost of living.
"It can have very harsh consequences on on your mental health, so some people may never have been in debt before, and through no fault of their own, are just really struggling with with the costs of living, finding that even if they've had a a pay rise, it's still not enough to afford the fuel that's rising and the extra costs of food, and it really is, you know, really difficult.
"If you put that together with a life changing experience such as, a death in the family or a relationship breakdown. It really can be quite, quite devastating and have that mental health impact.
"Some people almost just want to hide under the covers and just hope it will write itself, and others feel that there is no help out there. But I would say, yes, there is help out there, and I and other debt advisors are so used to speaking to clients so we can tackle things together, we can look through your income, your expenditure, we can list all the debts and help to encourage you to open your letters."
The Mid Lincolnshire branch covers Boston, Sleaford and North Hykeham.
"Significant" figures show that over the first three weeks of January there has been a 66% increase in the number of debt clients during Jan 2023 as opposed to Jan 2022.
There has also been a 98% increase in the number of debt issues during Jan 2023 as opposed to Jan 2022.
Clare tells us more:
"As you can see, the the debt statistics are quite high, but we expect them to get a lot higher over the next couple of months. That's mainly because people have used, say, credit cards to get over the festive period and then they'll find that their credit card statements come in and lots more letters from their creditors, means lots of demands. So that's the kind of the time where they'll be wanting to reach out for some support."
If you need support. Contact your local Citizens Advice branch.