Study sheds light on growing adverse credit issues

The latest Pepper Money Adverse Credit Study found that the number of people with adverse credit who have missed a payment on an unsecured loan has jumped from 26% in spring of 2021 to 33% by autumn

Study sheds light on growing adverse credit issues

The number of people who have experienced more severe forms of adverse credit has increased, findings of a study on adverse credit have shown.

The latest Pepper Money Adverse Credit Study found that the number of people with adverse credit who have missed a payment on an unsecured loan has jumped from 26% in spring of 2021 to 33% by autumn.

Read more: Pepper: Missed payments most common reason for adverse credit.

During the same period, the number of people with adverse credit and with a county court judgment (CCJ) registered against them increased from 22% to 27%. The number of those with adverse credit who have missed a payment on a mortgage or secured loan rose from 18% to 23%.

Meanwhile, the number of people with adverse credit who have entered a debt management plan has gone up from 27% to 33%.

Read more: Nearly one in five with adverse credit planning property purchase.

Consumer finance company Pepper Money, which commissioned the online survey, said that despite these increases, the number of people who say they have had some form of adverse credit over the last three years has remained flat at 12% of the population.

“While the total number has remained relatively flat over the course of the last year, we have seen an increase in the number of people reporting more severe forms of adverse credit such as CCJs and missed payments on secured and unsecured loans,” Paul Adams, sales director at Pepper Money, said.

The survey – conducted by YouGov in October 2021 – had a representative sample of 4,192 adult respondents aged 18 and above.