Monday 1st of June 2009
A growing number of students fear that they will be forced to file for bankruptcy or enter into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), research has revealed.
According to a study by Debt Lifeboat, nearly 20 per cent of students expect to encounter such problems in the future.
The insolvency practitioner noted that the amount owed by the typical graduate has increased by ten per cent over the last year, with the National Union of Students finding this figure to now stand at £21,000.
Managing director of Debt Lifeboat Philip Hartland Allen remarked: "As the credit crunch kicks in - and with food and fuel costs set to rise even further - we can expect more and more students to get into financial difficulty."
The firm observed that the government has introduced debt relief orders in order to help consumers, but that these only apply to those owing less than £15,000.
R3, the trade body for insolvency practitioners, recently suggested that IVA and bankruptcy figures do not reflect the true nature of the UK’s debt problems, as nearly one million people have been declared ‘technically insolvent’ by banks.
