Brits' secret spending 'worth £6.5bn a year'

31st May 2007

The amounts of money spent by British consumers on purchases they do not inform their families about are worth close to £6.5 billion a year, according to a new report from Halifax Home Insurance.

With the country's debt management problems continuing to increase, the financial services firm has suggested that there are now around 8.5 million "secret spenders" across the UK.

Consumers living in London are among the most likely to lie about the costs relating to a particular purchase, while 34 per cent of those polled indicated that they aim to give the impression that have "secured a bargain" under these circumstances.

Vicky Emmott, senior manager of underwriting at Halifax Home Insurance, commented: "Men and women are divided when it comes to their secret spending.

"While women return from shopping trips pretending they have secured a bargain price for their Manolos and Jimmy Choos, men hide the price of stereos and plasma televisions."

Meanwhile, more than 30,000 consumers in the UK entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement by way of a debt solution during the first three months of this year, figures from the Insolvency Service have shown.

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