Householders 'paying for problems with credit'
Date: 11/06/2008 12:00:00
Some householders are relying on credit to fix home emergencies because of a lack of savings, a survey has discovered.
The Alliance and Leicester study showed a third of families have money stored up which could be used to fix a problem such as a faulty washing machine.
Around 21 per cent of respondents to the poll said they would struggle to scrape together £100 to pay for a breakdown.
Alliance and Leicester manager for savings Hetal Parmar said: "We would encourage people to start saving sooner rather than later to avoid a basic household emergency becoming a financial headache."
Homeowners could also take a look at their
home insurance policies as certain problems could be covered by their insurance provider.
The research from Alliance and Leicester also discovered around 45 per cent of people could afford no more than £500 if an emergency arose.
Last month the British Insurance Brokers' Association said self insuring through savings was "something to consider" but should not be counted on to cover major problems.