The number of Scots turning to expensive payday loans in a desperate attempt to ease their cash-flow problems more than doubled last year, alarming new figures show.
Scots are also increasingly likely to take out more than two payday loans and are getting into deeper debts with the firms, according to research for The Scotsman by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS).
Thousands of Scots have resorted to payday loans in recent years after being denied credit by mainstream lenders and demand continues to grow as unemployment creeps up and pressure intensifies on household incomes.
Payday loans are designed for short-term repayment, but those unable to clear their debt on time face annual interest charges of up to 3,600 per cent, sending them spiralling deeper into debt.
Almost 9 per cent of Scots going to the CCCS for help with their debts last year had a payday loan, up from just 3.6 per cent a year earlier, it reveals today.
The number of loans taken out by CCCS clients averages out at 2.37, while the typical amount owed has jumped from £919 two years ago to £1,199.
One in three Scots admits to anxiety over their debt levels, recent R3 research found, with twice as many people north of the border as elsewhere in the UK worried about their payday loans.
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