IMF warns of rising defaults on credit card debt

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Britain`s credit card debt `crisis` will get considerably worse in the months ahead `with a wave of consumer payment defaults`, The Telegraph reports.

The IMF expects around £1.5 billion of consumer debt across Europe will not be paid off - much of it in Britain, which has more credit card borrowers than any other country on the continent.

It is feared that defaults on credit card debt will increase as a result of escalating unemployment and a rise in the number of personal insolvencies, which reached 29,774 in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2009.

A spokesperson for debt management company Gregory Pennington said: "It is important that people don`t become over-reliant on their credit cards, as this can quite easily lead to unmanageable debt. Anyone struggling to keep up with their repayments or using their card to pay for essentials, such as food, should contact a professional debt adviser without delay."

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Gregory Pennington offer debt management plans as well as a range of other debt solutions. If you are worried about debt, contact one of our expert debt advisers now.