A leading debt management company have warned that a second rise in the base rate from the Bank of England could lead to a massive number of people in the UK filing for personal bankruptcy.
Chiltern Debt Management have commented prior to the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee who will vote on whether to increase the base rate for the second time in 2007.
A spokeswoman for the group stated: "An interest rate rise in January will always have a big impact, but when looked at in combination with some of the most recent personal debt facts and figures, it does appear that the UK is lurching towards an untenable level of personal debt."
She added: "further interest rate rises could well have a catastrophic effect on hundreds of thousands of credit-reliant Brits".