Householders face a lifetime of debts

Typical householders have ‘no realistic hope’ of paying off their debts in their lifetime, Citizens Advice said today. People turning to CAB advisers for assistance owed an average of £16,971, an amount that would take 93 years to pay off. The most common reasons for debt were low incomes, over-commitment, illness or disability, and job loss, and more than half had debts of priority bills such as mortgage repayments, rent, council tax or fuel bills. The average debt was two-thirds higher than in 2001.