The number of consumer bankruptcies is increasing
Changes in the bankruptcy law contributed to an increase in the number of consumer bankruptcies. Exclusion from mid-2017 to mid-2018 consumer bankruptcy was announced in Poland by nearly 6,000 people. Prior to the entry into force of the amended legislation, the number of consumer bankruptcies per year was approximately 2,000 people.
Currently, every second consumer before bankruptcy was previously listed in the National Debt Register. The debtor’s obligations often grow for years, no one is listed in the National Debt Register for a few days’ delay in payment or filing a petition for consumer bankruptcy. This is confirmed by the number of liabilities (2-3) held by debtors listed in the above register. On the other hand, the total debt amounts to over PLN 100 million, and the average debt per debtor amounts to PLN 34 thousand.
Multidłużnicy try to save themselves by taking out further credits and loans to repay earlier arrears. This is the worst solution, as the costs of loans and credits are getting higher and the debtor’s liabilities are growing. Banks and loan companies seeing that the debtor is listed in the National Debt Register, if they grant another loan, they offer higher interest rates to compensate for the higher risk. Then they stop lending to the debtor, who reaches for the offers of various companies that often operate on the borderline of the law. In this way the debt is growing and the loop is tightened.
A declaration of bankruptcy is often the only chance for debtors and for creditors the only way to recover money. According to the regulations in force, people who took further loans, although they knew that they would not repay them, cannot count on debt repayment.
