War veterans lumbered with £11,000 of loans

Veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq are among one in six adults in Britain struggling to pay their bills.

Current and former members of the UK’s Armed Forces who are seeking debt advice owe an average £11,240 on top of mortgages and car loans, according to insolvency service Creditfix.

On average, the veterans owe money to six different creditors and are largely coping with their problems alone.

Creditfix says the average age of those seeking advice is 32, meaning they likely served in Iraq or Afghanistan. A study by the Ministry of Defence showed that one in ten serving personnel have concerns about personal debt.

New research estimates that 8.3 million families are finding it a ‘heavy burden’ to meet monthly bills — many have missed more than three payments within a six-month period, state-backed financial body the Money Advice Service found. 

Debt charity StepChange says more than 40 per cent of its clients have fallen behind on payments. 

The average debt of the people it helps has also risen from £14,251 in 2016 to £14,367 in the first half of 2017.

Experts warn that if interest rates rise later this year, more families could struggle to meet their loan repayments.

A spokesman for The Royal British Legion says: ‘The unique nature of service life means that a small but significant group of veterans and service personnel can really struggle with their finances. 

‘It’s crucial that no veteran or member of the UK Armed Forces should have to face their debt issues alone.’

In 2015, the Legion successfully called for the setting up of an Armed Forces Credit Union to help address debt issues.

This year, the Legion and a consortium of military charities joined with 28 partner charities to set up Veterans’ Gateway, a first-point-of-contact advice service.

If you have problems with debt, contact StepChange on 0800 138 1111 or Veterans’ Gateway on 0808 802 1212.