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The average UK family owes £7900 on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts. This is despite three successive years of net repayments and puts British consumers amongst the most indebted in the world.

These are the findings of PricewaterhouseCoopers Precious Plastic report into the UK consumer credit industry. The report predicts that the public's determination to reduce their debts will continue this year. Despite this it is expected that average consumer debt in 2013 will still be as high as £7500.

Household spending power continues to fall

Average incomes fell 3.5 per cent in real terms over the last twelve months, squeezing household budgets even more as consumers faced rising bills. 

Director of Financial Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Simon Westcott said 'UK consumers are among the most indebted in the world, with the average UK household still saddled with nearly £8000 of unsecured debt.'

'Although the UK Government's austerity drive appears to be hitting home, with households paying off an average of £355 worth of their debt in 2011, three years of austerity by UK consumers has only made a small dent in total levels of borrowing.'

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