Many consumers chose bankruptcy last year

A recent report has shown that many consumers actually opted to file for bankruptcy last year without being recommended to do so by creditors or other industry officials.

Government figures show that thousands of people actually decided to opt for bankruptcy last year in a bid to try and escape their debts.

Over the course of the year around 53,000 consumers are thought to have filed for bankruptcy without being advised to do this, with many unable to keep up with their spiralling debts.

Financial strain on household finances increased last year with high interest rates, increasing food prices, and high petrol prices all affecting the ability of many households to keep up with financial commitments.

This figure reflected a rise of over 40% compared to 2005 and was around double the figure of 2004. However, it represented less than a 1% rise compared to 2006, which is the year that interest rates started to rise, affecting the household financial of many homeowners.

There were variations in the level of the rise based on region, and in some regions the level of consumers filing for bankruptcy actually fell, although the overall figure did reflect a small rise compared to 2006.