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Study warns of '£55 billion' of hidden debts
A recent survey has warned that as many as one in three Britons has hidden debts, amounting to a total of £55 billion.
The study, carried out by OnePoll for the Post Office, suggests that 31% of people hide the level of their personal debt from other family members.
One in six women, and more than one in four men, keep their true financial situation a secret, even from their partners.
While spouses or civil partners may jointly own an asset, such as the family property, a credit card company is under no obligation to inform a co-owner about their partner's debts.
This means that an individual could amass substantial debts over a period of time, potentially placing the family home or other assets at risk.
Lesley McLeod, from the British Bankers' Association, commented that where customers are unable to keep up their repayments, banks will try to establish a suitable repayment plan, and that forcing the sale of the family home would be a 'last resort'.