Unsecured debt at its highest level in a decade

A recent study has shown that the average amount of unsecured debt has reached its highest level since 2013, standing at £14,654 in 2023, up from £13,563 in 2022.

With the cost of essential bills rising rapidly over the course of both 2022 and 2023, the average amount of household arrears among the study participants has increased– rising to £3,124 in 2023, up from £2,833 in 2022.

What is unsecured debt?

Unsecured loans are also known as personal loans.

These loans involve borrowing money from a bank or other lender, where you agree to make regular payments until the loan is repaid in full, together with any interest owed. 

The research found that the rise in unsecured debt has mainly been driven by higher amounts of credit card and personal loan debts.

Struggling with your debts?

Our free debt advice is available to people all over the UK, online or over the phone. We’ll go through your finances in detail and explain your options. You might be surprised at the range of help available. We can:

• check you’re getting all the benefits you’re entitled to
• help you with budgeting
• advise you on debt solutions

 There are various debt solutions available that reduce your monthly debt repayments and even write off some of your debt. We’ll let you know if any of them are suitable for you. All our advice is free. Some debt solutions are free, while others come with a fee. We’ll give you all the information you need to make an informed decision and, if we recommend a debt solution and you decide to go ahead, we’ll help get it set up.

You can read our guide for more details before getting in touch if you’d like.