Sixty-five per cent of UK adults would feel they were being judged for their past financial decisions if they needed to look for a ‘bad credit mortgage,’ according to new research carried out by YouGov for Simply Adverse.

The mortgage broker suggested this raised concerns that many people might be reluctant to seek the advice and information that is appropriate for their financial circumstances.

Simply Adverse’s research, based on the results of a January survey by YouGov that questioned 2,052 adults in the UK, also revealed that two-thirds of people would prefer to remain anonymous if they needed to look for such a ‘bad credit mortgage’ product. The broker suggested this could lead them to rely on potentially unreliable advice and information found on online forums or via search engines.

Simply Adverse managing director, Adam Hinder, said: “Our research shows that half of British adults would look for advice about bad credit mortgages in online forums, more than would approach a broker that they had used before (44%) or a specialist adverse credit mortgage broker (41%).

“While these forums allow people to maintain anonymity, we have some concerns about the transparency of the information given and how applicable it is to individual circumstances.”

The survey also questioned whether people would be willing to access any support designed to deal with the impact of having poor credit – for example seeking support with addressing debt itself.

With an estimated 9.3 million adults having had an application for credit turned down, Simply Adverse called this a key indicator of people having a problem with their credit history, and suggested there is a need to help people access information in an ‘accepting space’ within which they feel supported.

Stuart Carmichael, chief executive of Debt Support Trust, a money advice charity that helps people become debt free, added: “The statistics show a worrying conclusion, but one we are all too familiar with at Debt Support Trust; people are worried about speaking to professional advisers about their finances because they're embarrassed they will be judged on their financial decisions in the past.

“Most advisers want to help, and it's important to empower people in the knowledge that historic financial decisions can be rectified, and compassionate support is available.”

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