Consumers continue to turn away from `high street debt`

The latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have revealed that consumers continued to avoid taking on debt to fund high street spending in November, the Independent has reported.

The amount of debt taken on through store cards was down 25% during the penultimate month of last year, compared with the same month a year earlier, to £202m. An 11% fall was also recorded in borrowing through store instalment credit.

However, the figures show that the amount of debt taken on through personal loans increased by 34% during the month.

In total, the FLA said overall advances by its members during November 2010 were `unchanged on a year earlier at £4.38bn`.

The amount of debt taken on through credit cards remained `flat` compared with the same month in 2009 - although it was the single largest area of advances, at £2.71bn.