UK consumers hiding £1.3bn of secret debt

The research, carried out in December 2017, by GoCompare surveyed around 1,350 British adults. It found that 40 percent of adults have an average of £6,131 of personal debt (excluding mortgages).

It found that nearly a third (29 percent) of surveyed adults were concerned about the amount they owe - of these debtors, one in 10 had kept their debt secret for a year or more from their friends and family.

On top of hiding their finances, 14 percent of debtors said they didn’t know how they would be able to repay the money they owe.

Some people said they would consider asking family for financial help or talking to a debt charity, but others would consider taking out a consolidation loan (13 percent) or even a payday loan (six percent) to pay off their existing balances.

Georgie Frost, consumer advocate at GoCompare, said: “The fear of being judged or of people’s reactions to [a debtor’s] situation is understandable but the reality is that many of us have some form of personal debt that we are concerned about. The only way we can tackle this issue as a society is to drop the stiff upper lip mentality and talk about it, and most importantly reach out when we need help.”

GoCompare said debt isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it’s managed correctly but issues do arise when people rely on credit to live outside of their means.

Frost added: “Before making any big decisions like considering high interest consolidation or payday loans, or if you are worried about your debt levels, talk to an organisation such as StepChange or The Money Charity who will be able to offer free advice and support.”