This is a massive year on year increase! Remember, people fall into difficulties with debts for many reasons such as the loss of income from redundancy, relationship breakdown, sickness, as well as the increasing costs of existing debts.

This is a reflection of how easy it has been in the past to obtain credit and that's why with around 61 million people in the country, credit cards outnumber us!)

That's 50% of people in difficulty with debt suffering from some form of mental health issue. The OFT has recently issued draft guidance on Irresponsible Lending which requires creditors to follow published guidelines when dealing with people suffering from a mental illness and treat such cases sensitively.

Just think that's without borrowing any more money on the card! You'd also pay around £1800 in interest.

This is an indicator of how big an issue personal debt problems have become. Used correctly, a debt management plan can help you to turn you financial circumstances around.

That means, the rest, a staggering 91% felt that they weren't coping or had difficulties coping.