The number of over-indebtedness files in sharp decline in France and in the Bouches-Du-Rhône according to figures published by the Banque de France. Despite the damage caused by the health crisis and the catch-up effect that we feared, household over-indebtedness did not resume in 2021. A decrease of 21.6% for the department compared to 2019, reference year, the year 2020 being considered as atypical given the situation. A decline of 19.8% in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region and 15.5% nationally. “A decline that has been confirmed since 2014, due to preventive actions carried out upstream” says Jean Christophe EHRHARDT, regional director of the Banque de France PACA “but also because people are paying more and more attention and that credit institutions are now required to consult the files of the Banque de France before agreeing financing of this nature”.
single women or women with dependent children are the most affected
According to figures from the Banque de France, the most over-indebted people are single adults and single-parent families, the majority of whom (61%) are between 25 and 54 years old. Another finding is that 63% of people who submitted a file have a standard of living below the poverty line. 36% of over-indebted people are unemployed or unemployed. The Bouches-Du-Rhône department has 232 over-indebtedness situations per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 225 at the national level.
The boom of payment in installments without fees
At the same time, offers of payment in installments without fees are exploding. Already offered in supermarkets and on online sales sites, many stores now use it. Christophe, manager of a high-end furniture and decoration shop in Marseille, offers his customers to pay in 3 times, 5 times, 10 times and up to 20 times free of charge : “it’s a selling point, it allows some of our customers to access slightly more beautiful products, and the interest for us is to trigger a sale“. Split payments said to be “free” for customers but which have a cost for the merchant, specifies Christophe “credit organizations do not work for free, if it is not the consumer who pays, it is the merchant“ i.e. a rate of approximately 3% of the amount borrowed for a 10 times free of charge, 7% for a 20 times free of charge. For the regional director of the Banque de France “you have to be careful because these are forms of loan, of credit which are not always free, it should be known, which must be repaid over the announced period and therefore impact the household budget over the next 3 or 4 months “. Jean Christophe Ehrhardt recommends that customers carefully read the contracts and special conditions of these offers.