Credit card mortgage lifeline shock

11/01/2010

Figures reveal extent of people using credit to keep roof over their heads

 By Victoria Prest

New figures show many households in Scotland are sitting on a credit timebomb, with more than 128,000 Scots resorting to credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent.

A YouGov poll for homelessness charity Shelter found eight per cent of respondents used credit cards to keep up with rent or mortgage payments in the past 12 months, amounting to 128,000 households.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “It is a shocking discovery that [so many] households in Scotland are in such desperate circumstances they need to borrow money on credit cards to pay for basic housing costs.

“If people are already struggling to the extent that they fear losing their home, increasing credit card debt cannot be the answer. The sooner they seek help, the more options are available.”

The trend is not restricted to less well-off families, with four per cent of middle and upper-class households forced into debt by mortgage payments.

Susan McPhee, head of social policy and public affairs at Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “These past months numerous people have lost their jobs and many have seen a cut in their pay. Using a credit card for mortgage and rent payments is a short-term solution.”