ABSTRACT
In the post-financial crisis environment of the late 2000s and early 2010s, UK household finances came under increasing pressure. This emerged from a deep and prolonged recession in 2008/9, rising unemployment and declining earnings (Office for Budget Responsibility, 2012). Inflation climbed to at least twice the Bank of England’s target rate of 2 per cent in most months from mid-2008 onwards (Office for National Statistics, 2013). Meanwhile, the stock market crashed and the availability of credit to consumers was constricted (Office for National Statistics, 2012). The cut in the Bank of England base rate to an unprecedented low of 0.50 per cent in March 2009 (Bank of England, 2013) was the only source of reprieve for consumers with commercial borrowing, albeit creating problems for when the rates eventually rise (Whittaker, 2013).
