英國人負債累累

Rising prices， 1）stagnant incomes and high-cost lenders cashing in.

It’s not that borrowing is higher in Hull， it’s that so many are taking on more debt than they can handle. Man A： I’m stressed， fed up， not very well all the time.

This Hull taxi driver has lost control of ￡40，000 of debt.

Man A： I go to work 8， 10 hours a day， sometimes 12 hours a day. I come home. By time we’ve paid the rent， the 2）Council Tax， the food， fuel for my car， I just don’t have anything left. Everything else just swallows it up before I can pay my debts.

At a food bank ’round the corner borrowing has become a way of life； along with it， the worry when you can’t meet the payments.

Man B： If the gas and the electric go up and also the possible interest rate rises. That’s gonna literally tip us over the edge.

So who are the people who’ve got too much debt？ Well， nearly half of them， 48%， own their own homes， 58% are in work， 64% are women， but only 17% are getting advice and help with their debts. Too many are turning to 3）pay-day lenders to make ends meet， 4）compounding the problem when they could get free help from the likes of National Debtline and Citizens Advice.

Ray Davies （Expert）： It’s a fear factor. People do certainly try. They think they can sort this thing out themselves， but debt problems very soon become too big to sort out yourself.

You can deal with debt by negotiating lower payments or even going bankrupt. The challenge now is to make sure more people get the advice they need.

高漲的物價，停滯的工資，還有從中獲利的高利貸放款人。

其實英國赫爾市的借貸率并不比其他地方更高，但那兒許多人的債務超出了他們所能承受的范圍。

男人甲：我壓力很大，煩透了，生活一直都不是很好。

這位赫爾的出租車司機已經對他那4萬英鎊（約合40萬人民幣）的債務失去控制。

男人甲：我每天工作8或10個小時，有時候12個小時，我才回家?？稍诟锻攴孔?、市政稅、伙食費，以及車的燃料后，已經所剩無幾；我還沒來得及償還債務，錢就在這些東西上面花光了。

在街角的一家糧食站，“借”已經成為了一種生活方式；隨之而來的是入不敷出的憂慮。男人乙：如果燃氣費和電費上漲，再加上利率也有可能上漲，這些簡直讓我們不知如何是好。

那么負債過多的是哪些人呢？呃， 48%，也就是幾近一半的負債者擁有自己的房子，58%有工作，64%是女性，但僅有17%的負債者就自己的債務問題尋求專業意見和幫助。他們本來可以從全國理債專線和公民咨詢等此類機構得到免費幫助的，但太多的人卻轉向發薪日貸款機構借貸以維持收支平衡，此舉讓債務問題更加嚴重。

雷·戴維斯（專家）：這當中有憂慮的因素。人們當然會努力。他們認為自己能夠解決這件事情，但是債務問題很快就變得失控。

人們可以通過協商要求更低的還款額度，甚至通過破產來解決債務問題?，F如今的挑戰是如何確保更多的人得到他們所需要的專業建議。