Milan, 14 November (askanews) – November 14 is Debt Free Day, an initiative promoted by Kruk internationally 16 years ago and now entering its second edition in Italy, which aims to raise awareness of the complex issue of debt. The company’s goal, especially during financial education month, is to create greater awareness and encourage people to talk about it openly, to remove the taboo around debt and address the situation through the help of experts: 70%, in fact, would avoid talking about it out of embarrassment. We spoke with Simona Scarpa, Field Manager – KRUK Italy:
“It is important to talk about debt. From Ipsos research it is known that 41% of Italians have been in debt. Debt that is open for various reasons, for more or less important projects, such as a mortgage, the purchase of a car. From Ipsos research it is also known that some of these customers, however, cannot pay the monthly installments regularly. Therefore they skip installments or even stop making payments.”
Of the 41% of Italians who are in debt, 13% fail to pay installments, and 16% of the sample is at risk of missing one installment. Debt Free Day, apart from raising public awareness on this topic, also plays the role of providing expert guidance to those in debt towards sustainable solutions, reducing their mental burden from an emotional and psychological point of view. Saverio Costabile, Contact Center Manager – KRUK Italy then spoke:
“The worrying fact is that 47% of Italians do not know that there are companies that specialize in debt collection or have only heard about them without knowing how they work.
The basis of the problem undoubtedly lies in the lack of preparation of Italian society in facing economic and financial problems which causes people to associate emotions such as anxiety (33%), shame (26%) and fear (21%) with debt. Simona Scarpa, Field Manager – KRUK Italy concluded:
“35% of Italians say they have no preparation in economics and personal finance”.
Therefore, Kruk Italia aims to provide individuals with information regarding the correct debt management, through practical advice from experts in the sector.
