The Conservatives have outlined plans that would aim to curb the apparent excesses of store card credit providers.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne has suggested that the rates of interest charged by store card providers are sometimes too high and that many consumers are unwittingly putting themselves at risk of debt problems by using them.

With this in mind, Mr Osborne told the Which? Annual Awards recently that he would like to see the Office of Fair Trading given powers to clamp down on store card companies whose practices are unhelpful to people with money problems.

"Of course individuals have the prime responsibility to keep themselves out of trouble and businesses should only lend to those who can afford it," he said.

"But government has a role in setting the boundaries and ensuring fair play."

Last week, GE Money reported that one in three British consumers are looking to reduce the amount of cash they spend on a monthly basis.

Thousands of consumers across Britain are lying to their lenders about how much money they earn on an annual basis, according to a recent study.

Figures from uSwitch.com show that five per cent of people deliberately mislead the lender they are applying to in order to gain access to more credit than they might otherwise be able to.

Meanwhile, financial service firms are giving out billions of pounds in credit to consumers whose income level they have not had officially checked.

All of which could leave borrowers facing debt management and money problems and lenders having to write off sizeable sums.

"We cannot ignore the fact that consumers have a responsibility to borrow sensibly, but lenders need to help the process and tighten their credit checking procedures," said Simeon Linstead, head of personal finance at uSwitch.com.

Darren Cook from Moneyfacts.co.uk said recently that the days of cheap credit a years away from a return in the UK.

Families that fall into the category of "middle Britain" are facing serious debt problems as the economy continues in its downturn, it has been claimed.

According to a report from Axa, there are fewer middle British households than people often assume and debt management difficulties among this demographic are rising dramatically.

In fact, figures from the insurance firm suggest that enquiries for debt help among this sector have increased by 500 per cent and even individual who earn over £70,000 per year are not immune to money problems.

Steve Folkard of the AXA Financial Task Force said: "In spite of their higher earning power, middle Britain households are as susceptible to economic pressures as everyone else."

"What is also clear is that middle Britain households have felt the effects of the rising cost of living."

Alliance & Leicester reported recently that one in six people in the UK would need to use credit to cover their costs if they had washing machine malfunction or a boiler breakdown.

Credit card users in the UK have been warned that the annual percentage rates (APR) they pay on their balance transfers have been increasing in recent months.

According to MoneyExpert, the typical APR charged by credit card firms after their introductory period has ended has risen from 15.35 per cent to 16.1 per cent since the start of the year.

For many people, this could mean additional debt management and money problems and the price comparison firm behind the research has urged borrowers to be wary of lenders upping their APRs.

Sean Gardner, director of MoneyExpert, suggested that lengthy zero per cent balance transfer deals are available to credit card users but he maintained that the "go-to rate" should also be taken into consideration.

"Particularly as more and more people will not be in a position to clear their balance in full once their deal expires," he said.

A report earlier this month from Moneyfacts revealed that credit card lenders in the UK have been increasing their APRs, their cash withdrawal fees and their headline interest rates in recent months.

As many as one in four British consumers confess that they feel the need to "treat themselves" despite the fact that many of them are struggling with serious debt problems.

In fact, figures from the cahoot banking group suggest that around 13 per cent of UK consumers are making their money problems worse in order to keep up their shopping habits.

And while a quarter of adults admit that they have such a habit, a majority insist that they make cut backs in other areas in order to cover the costs of buying new clothes.

Matthew Timms, director at cahoots, said: "Despite the credit crunch, it seems the UK fashionistas are finding it hard to cure their ‘habit’."

Last week, CreditExpert reported that while a vast majority of British adults feel they have a good awareness of their own money problems, only a quarter can accurately state how much they owe to their creditors.

The debt problems accumulated in recent years are beginning to hit home with millions of borrowers around the UK, it has been suggested.

Jamie Elliot, coordinator at the financial inclusion network Transact, insists that people are now facing significant money problems after a period in which it was very easy to access credit.

Lenders were keen for their customers to borrow large sums via credit cards and loans but individual consumers are now having to tighten their belts in order to avoid the prospect of debt management disaster.

"An increasing number of people are finding that their sums no longer add up," said Mr Elliot.

"This is compounded by big increases in food costs and energy cost. A large number of people are already, very stretched," he added.

Transact recently reported that people who consider themselves to be middle class are increasingly turning to their advisors for help with money problems.

Fears for the future of the British economy appear to be growing among consumers around the country, it has emerged.

The consumer confidence survey of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has recorded an unprecedented low for May as people across the country become increasingly downbeat about their own money problems and the economic environment.

BRC analysts have noted that both high interest rates and rising inflation are worries for UK consumers and that they are "being hit with both at present".

"It’s clear we are seeing the effects of customers’ concerns about the future and about their own levels of debt," said the BRC’s director general Stephen Robertson.

According to the latest research, around 22 per cent of people have no spare cash at all and most are cutting back on non-essential purchases.

Last week, a report from MoneyExpert indicated that 38 per cent of British borrowers are worried about whether or not they will be able to resolve their debt problems.

The rate at which repossession cases are being brought to courts across the country is soaring, it has been claimed.

According to members of the Transact network, courts in various regions of the UK have seen a dramatic increase in the number of repossession hearings since the start of this year as more and more families struggle to deal with their money problems.

Nazma Latif, coordinator of the Sheffield Law Centre’s Duty Scheme, has indicated that there was a 100 per cent rise in repossession cases brought to court during the first three months of this year.

"The court used to hold a session devoted to possession hearings once every three weeks, now they hold one every week," she explained.

"Where we would help two or three clients every session, we now help five or six."

The Council of Mortgage Lenders recently insisted that its members view repossession as a last resort and that borrowers with debt problems should contact their lender as soon as they can.

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) has opted to maintain the base rate of interest at five per cent, it has been announced.

A cut in the base rate might have offered some relief to the millions of people around the country who are struggling to deal with their debt management and money problems.

Despite the ongoing slowdown in the economy, which has seen average house prices falling throughout the year and consumers having their finances steadily squeezed, the MPC did not feel a rate cut could be justified.

According to Howard Archer from Global Insight, the committee’s hands were effectively tied by the fact that inflation has been on the increase and cutting the cost of borrowing could have exacerbated the problem.

"The Bank of England really had little option but to leave interest rates unchanged at five per cent," he said.

Earlier this week, a report from Gocompare.com suggested that around a quarter of British homeowners feel trapped in their own property because of money problems and the difficulty of securing a mortgage deal.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is aiming to protect British consumers who have entered an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) by warning them of unscrupulous businesses that are looking to make their debt problems worse.

According to the OFT, there are a number of companies operating around the country that are providing insolvent Britons with misleading information with regard to their financial situation.

These firms have been telling people that they might have been mis-sold their IVA and could be better off if they entered bankruptcy, when this is not necessarily the case, the office has explained.

Ray Watson, OFT director for consumer credit, said: "Tackling companies who are engaging in unfair business practices by targeting vulnerable consumers with misleading advice and information, particularly if it leads to consumers becoming more over-indebted, is a key priority for the OFT."

Credit Action reported recently that one person in the UK is declared bankrupt or insolvent every four minutes.