Identity fraud 'causing headaches for debt management'

Many Britons who have fallen victim to identity fraud are finding the experience has made it difficult for them to carry out debt management.

Neil Munroe, external affairs director for Equifax, said the impact of identity theft can be far-reaching and can result in people being unable to furnish debts they had previously been able to afford.

He commented: "Unfortunately, it probably needs people to have experienced this issue and have had to go through the angst of sorting this out before the message gets home."

Mr Munroe added lenders are tightening up their credit lines in an attempt to clamp down on fraud and this is having a knock-on effect for consumers.

According to the National Fraud Authority, only 54 per cent of people routinely check their financial statements - and just 45 per cent follow up on missing post.

Furthermore, 44 per cent of Britons do not shred documents containing sensitive information before placing them in the bin.

This article has been published courtesy of countrywide financial services: Debt consolidation solutions

The cost of making phone calls from landlines has increased, one organisation has said, which could affect those struggling with debt management.

A quarter of Britons are worried about the possibility of a rise in the base rate, according to one study, which could negatively affect those with debt management problems.

More people could face bankruptcy as unemployment rises, it has been claimed.

Cuts to housing benefits will affect hundreds of thousands of people, one organisation has claimed, which could include those struggling with debt management.

Anyone looking to remortgage their home to deal with debt management issues may struggle because of the falling house prices.

People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance are finding it difficult to keep on top of their debt management responsibilities, it has been claimed.

One of the signs a person may be struggling with debt management is that they only ever make minimum repayments on their credit card, one organisation has said.

Debt management problems in the UK could still be prevalent after new figures from the Bank of England showed record amounts of write-offs for credit cards.

There was an increase in the number of people looking for debt management advice from Citizen's Advice Bureaux in the first three month of 2010.

Filing for bankruptcy in cases of financial difficulty may not necessarily always be the easy option.