Bankruptcies is rising at an alarming rate in England and Wales.
Personal insolvencies leapt by a fifth in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same period a year earlier, figures from the Insolvency Service showed.
There were 24,251 personal insolvencies between July and September, which also marked a six per cent rise on the second quarter of this year.
Within the total, bankruptcies increased by seven per cent quarter on quarter, but are still down by 1.5 per cent compared with a year ago.
The rising numbers of personal insolvencies have also been driven by an increase in individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), which are agreements whereby money is shared out between creditors.
There were 13,917 IVAs in the third quarter of 2016, 10.9 per cent higher than in the second quarter and a 28.8 per cent increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
The figures come after figures earlier this week showed consumer borrowing continues to boom.
Net borrowing on credit cards was at £175million in September, up 25.9 per cent from £139m in September 2015, according to figures from the British Bankers Association (BBA).
Personal loans to consumers and overdraft borrowing was last month more than double the £118m seen in September 2015.
Jane Tully, director of external affairs of the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline, said: "Our concern remains for the minority of households that are struggling financially or are relying on credit to make ends meet.
"If this is not sustainable long-term, there may be trouble ahead.
"We are therefore urging all borrowers to take stock of their household finances now – and to seek free advice from a charity-run service like National Debtline as early as possible to help address any issues."
Mark Sands, personal insolvency partner at RSM added: "The fifth consecutive quarterly increase in personal insolvency levels might suggest that consumers are entering into a new period of problem debt.
"It is certainly true that unsecured debt levels are rising fast, due in large part to the attractive deals on offer at car dealers, but with interest rates cut to a new low in August, the majority of consumers appear to be keeping on top of their debts – at least for now."
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