Inside industry players and consumers agree that managing debt is a joint responsibility for lenders and borrowers, IVA.co.uk has found.

In a consultation with consumers and debt solutions firms, it found that all parties concerned concurred that both groups must change their attitude.

Debt experts stressed that banks should focus on discussing with borrowers what they could afford instead of simply agreeing to lend now and worry about repayment later.

Consumers, meanwhile, must slough off the ‘buy now pay later’ culture, experts stressed.

But consumers would only be able to make better judgements with the help of financial education, credit specialists suggested.

Although only one in five people thought the lack of financial education was to blame for debt crises, industry analysts called for young people leaving school or going on to university to be given financial capability skills.

“The things that need to be told are the facts,” said IVA.co.uk site manager Andy Davie.

“Something to the effect that a £500 debt on your credit card, on a credit card with an APR of about 27 per cent, if you paid the minimum payments, will take you 11 years to pay off,” he added.

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