'Lax lending and advertising responsible for IVA increases'
Published On 4 April 2007
Television and internet advertising is at least partially responsible for the rise in the number of people taking out IVAs, an industry expert has warned.According to Phillip Beck, a spokesperson for freeivaadvice.co.uk, increased advertising and a general increase in public awareness about IVAs have encouraged more people to consider it as a financial option.
"There are a couple of issues with IVAs. One is that much greater awareness has come about because of the IVA process," Mr Beck explained.
"It is a snowball effect in that one person does an IVA and then tells friends and colleagues about them and they themselves investigate the possibilities. Also do not forget that they also have increased their advertising on television and on the internet."
Mr Beck added that the debt problem in the UK had been steadily growing for a long time, explaining: "People have got used to taking on debt.
"It is finally getting to the point where people have so much debt which they simply cannot repay."
However, Mr Beck also pointed out that "lax lending policies" from banks and credit card companies had not helped the situation.
In 2006, 107,000 Brits declared themselves insolvent, over 40,000 more than in the previous year.
