Rising debt to affect provider plans
British consumers may have to spend longer shopping around for the best loan deals, with reports that providers are preparing to batten down the hatches in the face of growing personal debt.
New research by credit analysts Datamonitor shows that the average unsecured debt per UK adult at the end of 2005 stood at £4,021.
This figure represents an increase of £191 on the previous year, up by over £1,000 on 2001 levels.
Having broken the £1 trillion barrier for the first time in July 2004, the collective total now stands at £1.2 trillion.
'As a result of increased indebtedness and lenders adopting a more precautionary approach to lending, consumers with a less than good credit history may find it more difficult to get access to cheap credit,' said Karina Purang, financial analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.
One option may be to manage debts more effectively with a consolidation loan, which could work by combining monthly debt payments into one account.
Consumers can check out a variety of competitive deals online. | 
