12:37pm Monday 1st September 2008
By Harry Walton
NEW figures show the increase in bankruptcies in Weymouth and Dorchester is running at four times the national average.
The Ministry of Justice said that for the second quarter of 2008 there were 65 people making themselves bankrupt in Weymouth and Dorchester compared with only 56 in the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 16 per cent.
Figures for Dorset rose nine per cent from 272 to 297, there was a seven per cent increase for Bournemouth from 216 to 232 while national figures only showed a four per cent increase.
Weymouth Citizens Advice Bureau deputy manager Helen Jones warned that more people were struggling with debt.
She said: "People are telling us that times are hard.
"We have seen an increase in calls about bankruptcies and I think it is perhaps partly due to the fact that bankruptcy doesn't have the stigma that it used to.
"There has certainly been an increase in debt. It is a common problem and about half our workload is dealing with debt cases.
"We are noticing a lot more now that we get calls about mortgage repossession actions being started by lenders. That entails the debtor losing their house which has a more drastic impact than bankruptcy."
She added: "I can only see them getting worse in the short-term."
Nationally, the three months of April, May and June had an increase of four per cent in people making themselves bankrupt in England and Wales compared to the previous quarter.
There was a similar increase in the use of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), which rose seven per cent.
The Government figures showed that 13,754 people successfully petitioned the Court to bankrupt themselves.
Another 9,410 agreed an IVA in the quarter of April to June.
Separate figures from the Insolvency Service show that the average bankrupt has debts of £50,828.
Accountants and business adviser KPMG has warned that the economic situation would continue to cause problems.
Mark Sands, who is KPMG's south coast director of personal insolvency, said: "There are no signs of base rates falling any time soon.
"Consumers are seeing the cost of mortgages eating up more of their income, energy costs are about to leap and the cost of the weekly shopping basket grows by the day.
"More than one million homeowners face the end of cheap fixed rate deals this year, mortgage deals continue to be difficult to secure and unsecured lending has tighter restrictions than for many years as a result of the credit crunch.
"For some the desperate step of selling their home looks a forlorn hope in a property market which has almost ground to a halt.
"The message is to take advice on all the options and then act on it."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thisisdorset.net