Baines & Ernst Highlight the Importance of Being Open About Debt

NEWBURY, England, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the news that a significant amount of people in debt conceal the information from their family or partner, Baines & Ernst are today highlighting the importance of being open about financial problems with yourself and those around you.

Research carried out by the Post Office shows that the average personal debt of an individual in the UK currently stands at 9,731.51 pounds (excluding mortgages), but many people only admit to owing half this when talking to a partner or family member.

According to the online poll conducted by OnePoll, of the 2,258 UK consumers questioned, one in five consumers admitted  to hiding their debt from their partner, while an overwhelming 78% with hidden debt have never been open about the true extent of their debt. Of the 22% that were, the majority (60%) were discovered rather than chose to come clean.

Nick Pearson from Baines & Ernst, who are experts in debt help and debt consolidation offer a range of debt solutions tailored to your needs, said, "Although these results are very concerning, they are by no means surprising. We've had instances of people burying letters in their garden, hiding them in an outside shed and disposing of them in the neighbour's wheelie bin, all to avoid detection from their partner."

"Many people prefer to bury their head in the sand rather than tackle debt head on, which is exactly the wrong attitude to take, as the problems continue to grow rather than dissipate over time."

"If you are in financial difficulty then the best option is to be open about it with your friends and family and to seek the assistance of a professional debt solution company if you feel overwhelmed by debt."

• Founded in 1996 as Baines and Ernst, Paymex Group Ltd is one of the UK's largest providers of debt solutions;
• We have helped over 150,000 people to get their finances under control;
• Baines and Ernst, Blair Endersby and Buchanan Roxburgh are currently helping ten's of thousands of customers to repay debts to their creditors through DMP's, IVA's or PTD's;
• We have nearly 1bn pounds of unsecured debts under management;
• The Group has distributed well over 1/2 billion pounds to creditors since 2000 and will distribute approx 100m pounds to creditors this year
• Baines and Ernst were awarded Competent Authority status by the Insolvency Service, allowing us to accredit intermediaries to deliver the Debt Relief Order;
• Provider of  bankruptcy, full and final settlement and single premium assisted self help advice through specialists Baker Evans;
• In April 2009 we launched the Evolution Bank account;

SOURCE Baines & Ernst