According to recent research and statistics, many consumers in the UK are simply burying their heads in the sand when it comes to dealing with debt levels, and an alarming number of those with unsecured debts actually have no idea how much they owe. The research suggests that consumers in Britain could collectively owe around £100 billion more than they actually think they do. The report goes on to suggest that many consumers actually owe twice as much as they actually believe they owe on unsecured debts such as credit cards and store cards.

Industry experts state that many consumers are simply trying to ignore their debt problems and are failing to effectively monitor the amount that they owe. Figures show that consumers in the UK with unsecured debts think that they owe an average of around £5000. However, according to figures from the Bank of England the average figure is actually over £10,000. Moreover, only one fifth of consumers with unsecured debt actually had worries about their debts.

Around 43% of consumers in the UK have some form of unsecured debt according to recent figures, with debts such as store and credit cards, personal loans, and more. The report also extended to those with secured debt in the form of a mortgage, and borrowers with secured finance seemed to be more on top of the amount owed. Respondents estimated their secured debt at an average of £92,000 and the Bank of England figures showed that the average was around £95,000.

According to one industry expert: ‘While Britons do seem to have a good grasp of their mortgage borrowing, they are wildly under-estimating the amount of money they owe on credit cards and loans. Clearly, it is a lot easier to keep an eye on a single mortgage, than it is to juggle a couple of credit cards, a personal loan, a car loan and maybe even an overdraft as well.’