In several articles, Netavisen has written about Norwegians struggling with unpaid bills and debt collection claims. Earlier in April, debt collection giant Kredinor reported that the volume of our debt collection claims was larger than before — but their number had never been greater.
In a recent Statistics Norway survey on living conditions, 970,000 people, or 20 percent of the population over the age of 16, said that in 2023 they would not be able to manage an unexpected expense of NOK 20,000 without taking out a loan or selling Goods.
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Double In a number of cases
Debt collection agency Intrum, which has a market share of more than 30 percent in Norway, has told Nettavisen that it is now seeing an “all-time high” in the number of debt collection cases for seniors over the age of 60.
This is a clear picture that has formed over the past ten years, where older people get more debt collection, while younger people get less. Seniors now make up 15 percent of the total amount raised, compared to 5 percent 14 years ago. The number of cases has doubled in the past six years for those over 60, Eyvind Evgen, press director at Intrum Skandinavia, wrote for Nettavisen.
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It mainly concerns debt collection issues within online shopping, insurance, telephone and electricity.
But what is the reason for this?
The online newspaper conducted a conversation with Morten Trusty, chief analyst at Intrum, to find out the reasons for this worrying trend.
He says it's linked to, among other things, the fact that we're living longer and in better health, which in isolation means you're using more money and credit for longer than you did before.
But there are also other nuances, Trusty says. The growth in the number of debt collection cases is faster than population growth.
– It is reasonable to think that those who reach the age of 60 take with them very different credit habits into old age than those who leave this category. The Trust says over-60s are becoming an increasingly credit-active group.
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At the other end of the scale, the chief analyst says another factor is that we are starting families later than before.
-It changes the need for credit cards more over time. At the same time, you take longer and longer education, which means that you enter a permanent job later, and later you receive a permanent income. A stable income is in most cases a prerequisite for obtaining credit.
Payment notes and the pandemic
At the same time as debt collection cases for seniors are piling up, there is also talk of more payment notices for this age group.
This is especially due to the decrease in the number of debt collection cases such as quarantines during the pandemic, says Trusty.
The exception was for those over sixty. He adds that in addition to debt collection cases, the number of payment notices has also increased.
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