69% of people in debt don’t like to talk about it

New research by Lowell has found that 69% of people in debt don’t talk about it with a majority saying it’s because they are embarrassed.

The company’s latest Financial Vulnerability Index has shown that borrowing has risen dramatically since the beginning of the year with over one in five consumers have mental health difficulties caused by money worries.

The research also shows that average credit usage has risen from 48.7 to 52.7 since the start of the year.

Lowell Chief Executive Officer John Pears said “The most important thing for customers struggling with debt is to get in touch with us. If you have a problem, require support, a change in repayments get in touch, and we’ll be happy to work on a solution.”

“The current situation with energy prices and inflation may be new, but customers can experience personal crises and income shocks like bereavement, illness, or loss of work at any time. That’s why Lowell has worked so hard on building a system that makes it easy for customers to flex their payment plans to fit with their situations.”

At Lowell we know that people often find it hard to talk about money with our research showing that 69% of people in debt don’t talk about it, with the majority citing embarrassment as the reason why. These debts can lead to money worries with 22% of people reporting that mental health difficulties as a result. Rising levels of debt are set to bring on money worries for more and more people.”

“That’s why Lowell are pushing for more people to talk about their debts this Talk Money Week. At Lowell we know it can be hard but so many of our customers tell us that they wish they had reached out earlier to talk about their debts.”

“We make sure that every customer is treated fairly by going through an extensive income and expenditure analysis to properly understand affordability. We then build long-term, affordable, and fair repayment plans based on that analysis and conversations with the customer.”