Levels of debt being collected by members of the Credit Services Association (CSA) have returned to pre-Christmas levels, according to the latest Quarterly figures. The gross total of consumer debts collected for the March 2012 stands at just over £172 million – a return to a level last seen in November 2011 (£172 million) following a dramatic fall in December (£147.476mn).
The CSA attributes this to an increase in debts being passed to members in November contrasting starkly with the consumers hanging on to their money in December to spend on Christmas.
At the end of the first quarter of 2012, the total value of unpaid consumer debt held by CSA members for collection stood at £58 billion (£58.316bn), comprising £31 billion (£31.264bn) placed by creditors with Debt Collection Agencies to collect, and a further £27 billion (£27bn) of purchased debt owned by Debt Buyers. This represents a slight increase on the total for the final quarter in 2011 (£58.179bn – a difference of £137 million).