The Money Advice Trust has published a new report on how people in debt are coping with the impact of Covid-19, using stories from the debt advice frontline.
The qualitative report brings highlights examples from callers to National Debtline and Business Debtline on how they are dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak. It aims to shed some light on some of the human situations behind the statistics on the financial effects of the pandemic.
Jane Tully, Money Advice Trusts’ Director of External Affairs, says:
“Households across the UK are grappling not just with the health implications of Covid-19 and the upheaval to their daily lives, but also their finances. We know from the steady flow of media headlines and statistics that the financial effects will not be equal – some sectors are more impacted than others and economic winners and losers will emerge.
“At National Debtline and Business Debtline we help the people who sit behind those numbers – those in the hospitality industry whose jobs have disappeared, taxi drivers whose custom has dried up, bar owners who have lost all their trade overnight. In telling their stories, we want to help policy-makers, regulators and creditors to stand in their shoes and understand their hopes, realities and priorities. By understanding these, we can work more effectively together to help people.”