Experian Study Reveals Consumer Debt Trend Over Past Two Years

Experian Consumer Direct, a leading provider of online direct-to-consumer credit reports, scores and monitoring, today announced the results of a nationwide study on consumer debt that shows consumers have increased their debt by more than 12 percent over the past two years. Minimum monthly payment obligations also increased by 10 percent during the same time period. National and statewide results for the study can be found on Experian’s National Score Index® Web site at www.NationalScoreIndex.com.

“In addition to consumers taking on substantially more debt over the past two years, their number of late payments increased nearly 20 percent,” said Ty Taylor, president of Experian Consumer Direct. “This shows that as consumers took on more financial responsibility, they were not able to manage it effectively. However, on a positive note, our study also revealed that during the same time period, each year consumers applied for credit less often and opened fewer credit cards.”

It is important for consumers to understand how increases in debt can impact a credit score. While carrying debt is not necessarily negative on its own, having balances which are close to credit limits can potentially lower a credit score. In addition, high debt levels combined with late payments can be a red flag for some lenders. By understanding how credit scores consider these elements, consumers can empower themselves to make more educated decisions when it comes to managing their debt and their credit.

Experian empowers consumers by offering products and information to help them proactively manage their personal finances conveniently and securely online. Products include credit reports from all three national credit reporting companies, credit score reports that show the positive and negative factors that determine their credit score, and credit monitoring products that provide daily monitoring of their Experian credit report or all three national credit reports.