The company’s debt index for the first quarter of this year, also found that a third of citizens are struggling to repay their debt, with 91% applying to receive debt counselling on their loans. Benay Sager is the company’s Chief Operations Officer and says the numbers are worrying.

“The challenge is that the costs come up and grow and the consumers feel the need to supplement them with additional sources of income. And the first port of call seems to be going for a loan. Particularly the personal loans. It shouldn't have come to this stage. Particularly for younger people. We really want to catch them earlier on and give them the right advice, but for us, it is at highest level since 2017. We haven't seen numbers like this for almost ten years,” Sager said.

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