Young people accrued 235 million in ‘inkassogjeld’ debt collected, high interest penalised, debt

Visa cardsVisa cards.Photo: Pixabay

Young Norwegians have accrued ‘inkasso’ (debt-collected) debt over the past year at an increased rate of 50%, rising to 235 million. Many lack an understanding of economics, believes the Barnas Jurist (young people’s law firm).

The figures come from Kredinor, and they worry Project Leader, Tamar Thorud, of the Barnas Jurist organisation, reported NRK news .

The organisation provides free legal aid to young people under the age of 25.

‘It is a challenge that many youngsters have little understanding of the relationship between income and consumption, that the effect is to compound interest and so on.

We see a clear need to facilitate for people to gain a better economic understanding, and good repayment habits at a young age’, said Thorud.

He said that the temptations are many, and the pressure to consume is large, and payment problems often occur when consumer debt gets out of control.

‘The road is short from shopping online to credit card debt escalation’, said Thorud.

Marketing Manager, Ingjerd Thurmer, of Kredinor, said the development has gone down the wrong road since 2014, and that for every person who has debt collection debt, on average, 2.6% of cases they have brought upon themselves.

‘We know from experience that the more a person owes, the harder it is to repay’, she explained.

One debtor we asked randomly in the street remarked ‘Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness.

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery – Charles Dickens said that over a century ago’ as he walked, coughing uncontrollably, into a freezing onslaught of wind.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today