The chief executive of the organisation, Malcolm Ferey, said that his team dealt with 248 people struggling with a total of £1.7 million of ‘unmanageable debt’ in 2016 – a rise of £239,000 and 27 people compared to the previous year.
He added that this was the first time they had seen any rise in the figure since the recession in 2012.
Mr Ferey said the most common types of debt JCA dealt with in Jersey was ‘unsecure debt’.
‘Most cases we see are people borrowing to tide themselves over for the short term, or getting into credit card debt that slowly builds up over time,’ he said.
He added that in the ‘vast majority’ of cases, people were taking out loans in good faith and getting into trouble after they experienced a change in circumstance, such as ‘falling ill or losing their job’ .
Mr Ferey said that he recommended that people keep a minimum of ‘three months of their salary aside for emergencies’ .
Household debt reached £202 billion in the UK this July – the highest on record since 2008.
The reasons for this are thought to include wage growth lagging behind inflation, as well as many credit card providers focusing on attracting new customers with long-term ‘zero rate’ periods.
Some commentators in Jersey are concerned that the UK’s ‘ticking household debt timebomb’ could soon be seen in Jersey.
Anne King, Jersey Consumer Council chief executive, said that with all types of consumer credit, the borrower ‘really needs to know what they are getting into’ and be wary of pay-day loans and private lending.
Mrs King added that she would like to see an ‘industry-supported code of practice’ introduced alongside legislation to protect both lenders and borrowers.
