MORE Islanders are going to Jersey Citizens’ Advice Bureau struggling with higher amounts of debt, as people seek help over ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes, credit card and bill payments.
Interest rate hikes, high fuel costs and rental prices have pushed many to the limits of their budgets and left Islanders with little wriggle room to pay off mounting debts, with CAB saying it also often had to refer Islanders to food banks – something which could increase in winter as fuel costs grow.
‘We see people struggling with all sorts of debts, from “buy now, pay later” schemes to loan repayments, credit cards, and bill and rent payments,’ said CAB advice services manager Amelia Blackie.
‘We cannot answer for the people of Jersey as a whole, but of the people who come through our door with financial worries, we often hear of the challenge to find rent within their budget and the challenge of juggling higher living costs (ie of groceries and bills),’ she said.
‘Some clients have said that this means they have no buffer to pay for one-off emergency payments that crop up and some have said that they don’t have enough to spend on leisure now.’
Ms Blackie said those approaching CAB had wide-ranging experiences, and that CAB had had to refer many to food banks.
‘Each case is often very different as circumstances and priorities/commitments vary,’ she said.
‘We often have to refer people to the various food banks in Jersey but the demand for this seems to be greater in the winter when fuel, in particular heating, costs are higher.
‘We are yet to do our full stats report for July but we actually saw more new debt inquiries in the first quarter of this year compared to recent months,’ Ms Blackie said.
‘Our usual trend is that we have a higher influx in the new year. However, the total amount of debt we have seen in the last couple of years is higher than in previous years.’
These budget strains were mirrored in a recent cost of living report on Jersey and other Crown Dependencies conducted by Island Global Research. It found that 40% of respondents in Jersey would struggle to afford a £100 increase in monthly living expenses and 14% could not cope with an unexpected but necessary one-off expense of £100.
The market research group, which specialises in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, surveyed 1,443 people in the Island across a wide range of ages and reported that over half (55%) had found it difficult to meet living costs in the past 12 months.
Debt worries can also have a damaging effect on mental health, Ms Blackie added: ‘We have found that many of the people in financial difficulty do also experience poor mental health. It is not always apparent which is the consequence of the other, but they often exacerbate each other.’
CAB continues to offer a Money Advice Service and is ‘very happy to help those struggling with debt find a way forward’, she said.
