Consumer watchdog Credit Action claims it is “too easy” for young people to get into debt in the present ‘lending culture’.

According to recent figures, 71 per cent of young people (aged 18 to 29) have an overdraft facility and up to one in five are permanently overdrawn.

“Young people were not in debt at all, but now they are becoming in debt as much as everybody else,” said Keith Tondeur, national director of Credit Action, noting how the situation today differs to just a few years ago.

“You are getting more young people in serious debt. I think it’s too easy for them to get credit,” he continued. “The problem is that many students, like many people, don’t know how to handle money properly and so they are likely to borrow too much, too quickly.”

Mr Tondeur added that loans, credit cards and borrowing was not necessarily a bad thing but it is important that credit services are used and offered responsibly.

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