There are many things to buy at Christmas, from decorations and presents to festive food and drink, and many families may find their income will not stretch far enough. This is why many may start to amass loan or credit card debt in order to have a great family Christmas.

The site’s researchers worked out that if people give into temptation and use credit cards to cover the cost of Christmas this year, they could be paying off what they owe until the year 2023. This estimate is based on people only making the minimum repayments every month.

Using the example of a consumer with a balance of £500 on their credit card, which has an average of 18.12 per cent APR, MoneySupermarket.com worked out that it would take 11 years and 8 months to pay off the debt, if only the minimum 2.5 per cent repayments were being made every month.

Furthermore, anyone who found themselves in this position would have to pay an extra £477 on their original debt to cover the interest payments.

The head of banking at the price comparison website, Kevin Mountford, said:

“The festive period is an expensive time of year and many may be thinking about using their flexible friend to tide them over this season. It’s important festive spenders use the most appropriate card option to suit their needs.”

Christmas debt problems could last until 2023 is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

The charity Debt Advice Foundation (DAF) conducted the survey, which showed rapid growth in the number of people taking out payday loans and later ending up with debt problems. One in four of those using this credit option did so in order to pay for food, household essentials or bills, whilst 44 per cent used them in order to tackle other debt problems.

However, half of those included in the survey also said that they felt they had not received enough information when applying for these loans on how much interest they would be charged and exactly how much they would need to pay back.

Payday loans offer consumers a quick and easy way to borrow relatively small amounts of cash, designed to tide them over until they get paid. The companies which provide these loans often boast that they don’t check applicants’ credit histories, which could leave people with unaffordable debt problems that they have no hope of paying off.

Martyn Saville, from the consumer campaigning charity Which?, said:

“Payday loan companies are moving aggressively into a lending market that currently fails to cater for too many low earners and those unable to access mainstream lending. Unfortunately, poor practice by some payday loan providers risks leaving many consumers vulnerable to unmanageable problem debt.”

Payday loans fuelling UK debt problems is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

A survey of 1,500 patients conducted by YouGov on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Support showed that 66 per cent were facing a rise in costs. This increase was due to rises in household expenses, as well as the cost of hospital trips and medical care.

Of those who were suffering money worries and debt problems, 5 per cent said that they had skipped meals in order to save money. Meanwhile, 17 per cent said they had been forced to cut spending on everyday essentials, which occasionally included food.

Nearly half of the people included in the survey were worried about their finances and debt problems, whilst 7 per cent admitted that they were scared of losing their homes. Almost a third said they had already dipped into or spent their savings, and 9 per cent had previously had to borrow money in order to get by.

These findings have been published by the charity as it challenges the Government’s Welfare Reform Bill, which is to be debated in the House of Lords. This Bill involves changing the Employment and Support Allowance, which Macmillan says could leave as many as 7,000 cancer patients as much as £94 a week poorer.

What’s more, the charity claims that another proposal could mean that cancer patients who need immediate financial help after their diagnosis will have to wait an additional three months to get the money.

Debt problems affecting cancer patients is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

Drummer Jimmy Brown, saxophonist Brian Travers, percussionist Norman Hassan and trumpet player Terence Oswald were all forced into bankruptcy last month at Birmingham County Court, despite the fact that they sold more than 70 million records throughout their 30-year music careers.

The band members are now said to owe more than £750,000 to various creditors. Mark Sands, a spokesperson for the firm which is handling the bankruptcy, RSM Tenon, told the Sunday Mercury:

“The amount we are looking to recover is £750,000″

“We will assess their assets, which includes their properties and earnings, and see what we can get back.

“It may be that they don’t have anything, in which case we will look at them, then move on. It might be they have £100,000 equity in their homes.

“If they can give us that amount, or close to that amount, in cash, then we won’t go to the lengths of them selling their homes.”

Although he could not say how the members of UB40 managed to lose or spend all of their money, Mr Sands did confirm that most of the band’s debts were to HM Revenue & Customs and to the creditors of DEP International. This was UB40’s own company, which has now gone bust. In some good news for the band’s fans, however, Mr Sands did say that the musicians could continue to play, because their earnings can be used to tackle their debt problems.

Bankrupt UB40 stars had £750,000 in debt problems is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

According to the statistics, the number of personal bankruptcy cases fell by around 300 between the second and third quarters of 2011, from 30,513 to 30,219. For around four quarters in a row, however, the number of personal bankruptcy cases has remained at around the 30,000 mark.

However, the figures also revealed a slight rise in the number of businesses going bust between the second and third quarters of 2011. Compared to the previous quarter, business bankruptcy figures rose by 2 per cent to 1,253 in the third quarter. This is a 10 per cent increase compared to a year ago, although personal bankruptcy figures are actually down by 11 per cent compared to the same time last year.

Louise Brittain, from the leading accountancy firm Deloitte, also commented on the number of alternative debt solutions that consumers are turning to instead of bankruptcy, such as IVAs. She said:

“Bankruptcy levels fell from 11,113 in the second quarter to 9,567 in the third quarter of this year. IVAs increased from 12,143 in the second quarter to 13,048 in the third quarter of this year. The increase in IVA figures indicates that creditors and debtors are now working together to agree formalised debt repayment processes to avoid bankruptcy.”

Personal bankruptcy figures fall but UK businesses are still struggling is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

Christine and Lee Martin, from Haverhill in Suffolk, blamed their mounting debt problems as the reason why they decided to commit benefit fraud. Both Christine, 33, and Lee, 37, admitted numerous charges of failing to inform the authorities of changes in their circumstances.

Mrs Martin admitted that she failed to tell the local council that her husband had started working for ID Technology Group in 2007-2008, and once more in 2008-2010 when she began working for Tesco and her husband started employment at Culina Logistics. Mr Martin, on the other hand, answered charges relating to his income support and incapacity benefit. In an earlier hearing, he told the court:

“We were in a lot of debt. I lost my leg in 2006 and I have had seven years of hell, taking up to 165 tablets a week and being in constant pain.

“A lot of the time I was off work sick and having to have operations. I am still having trouble with it now. I broke my back in February and have not been able to work a great deal since then.

“We were just struggling with so much debt and we did not know what to do. We are going to pay it back – we are trying to put things right.”

As well as being given 12-month community orders and paying court costs, the couple will pay back £227 a month until all the benefits money is paid back. Their debt problems, however, have not gone away, so this extra payment could leave them in serious need of debt help.

Couple involved in £28k benefits scam due to debt problems is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

William Fox, 56, went through bankruptcy proceedings many years ago, in 1994. However, at the time, the Stalybridge businessman failed to provide the official receiver with the required information. This meant that his official court discharge from bankruptcy was suspended, which also meant that he was banned from acting as a company director until the bankruptcy order was lifted.

Mr Fox, however, has proceeded to breach his agreement on a number of occasions. In 1998, he was jailed for four months for trying to obtain credit whilst bankrupt, and then between 2002 and 2004 he is said to have worked as the company director for Propertylife, even though he was still not discharged from bankruptcy.

An inquiry was launched into Mr Fox’s affairs but he moved to Thailand before an interview could be obtained with him. He has now been apprehended many years later, after returning to the country via Manchester Airport.

Mr Fox plead guilty to acting as a company director despite being an undischarged bankrupt, and he has been ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,500 in court costs, as well as receiving a further three year ban from working as a company director. District Judge Jonathan Taaffe said to Mr Fox before sentencing:

“I take the view that any person involved in the management of a company or business must understand their own legislation.

“The fact that you didn’t suggests that you have a cavalier attitude to the legislation.”

Oldham man caught running a company despite bankruptcy ban is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

Joshua Walker, 19, was arrested after police obtained a search warrant for his Chell Heath home, and found a stash of cannabis, plus electronic scales and a mobile phone which linked him to drug-dealing activities.

The teen originally claimed to police that the cannabis was for his own personal use, but the amount of the Class B found (95.95 grams, with a street value of £540) and the evidence from a mobile phone made it apparent that Walker had been dealing.

Walker later admitted that he had been dealing drugs in order to raise enough money to tackle his debt problems. He originally owed £3,000, but managed to get this down to £900 by the time he was arrested. It is not clear to whom he owed the money, but what is evident is that Walker should have sought debt help rather than breaking the law.

Defending Walker, Joanne Wallbanks said:

“He found himself in a situation where he owed money and was persuaded by someone far more criminally sophisticated than him to sell drugs as a way of reducing his debt.

“He said in interview that he felt like he was backed into a corner, but admits he has been naive and should have said no from the start.”

Due to his previous good character and the fact he pleaded guilty, Judge Paul Glenn sentenced Walker to 12 months in a young offenders’ institute, a sentence he is only expected to serve half of.

Debt problems push Staffordshire teen to deal drugs is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

Called Debt View, the map identified the South East as the region which was worst hit by debt, as on average residents owed a total of £21,581. The situation was worst in Slough which, with an average debt of £24,946, was the worst in the whole of the UK.

Birmingham had the highest amount of debt per postcode area in the UK in 2010, at £75 million, and Crewe residents racked up the highest amount of debt outside London and the South East, at an average of £23,177.

Over in Wales, the citizens of Cardiff had the highest average debt of anywhere in the country, with residents racking up an average of £18,577 in debt problems.

The region with the lowest debt in the whole of the UK was the Shetland Islands, were the average amount of debt was £12,278.

As well as revealing region-specific data, the Debt View map also showed some interesting gender differences in how people deal with debt. In Lincoln, it was found that women were less likely to seek debt help than men. Just half of the people seeking debt advice in Lincoln last year were women. However, men in the region tend to owe more, as they have an average debt of £20,763 compared to the £18,843 in debt racked up by women.

CCCS identifies UK’s debt problem hotspots is a post from: MoneyPlus Group

Numerous complaints have been received by the OFT from people with debt problems, who say they are being chased for what they owe online.

The main concern for the OFT is that as well as it being wrong to pressure people over their debt management problems, these debt collectors could be revealing embarrassing details on the Internet relating to the money worries of the people they are targeting. These details could be seen by friends, family members and even businesses and employers, thereby having a detrimental effect on the debtor’s home life or career.

In order to deter the practice, the OFT is warning debt collectors not to use social networking sites to pursue debtors. It has even said that anyone caught doing so could lose their consumer credit licence.

Commenting on the issue, the OFT’s director for consumer credit David Fisher has said:

“In the present economic climate, with many people, including those who may be particularly vulnerable, in financial difficulties, it is crucial they are treated fairly by companies recovering their debts.”

This is not the first improper practice carried out by debt collectors, as in the past it was common for debt collection agencies to pursue debtors through threatening letters, phone calls and messages. It was only a matter of the time before the Internet was used as a way of reaching debtors and pressuring them to pay up.

People with debt problems targeted on Facebook, OFT warns is a post from: MoneyPlus Group