Around 630,000 of Polish people between the age of 25 and 35 - the so-called Generation Y - are not paying their debts, according to data from the National Debt Register (KRD).
In Poland, members of Generation Y (people born between 1983 and 1993) have been raised during the post-communist economic transformation and do not recognise financial limitations, such as saving up for years to buy a car or waiting 15 years for an apartment with a housing association.
Generation Y-ers are used to buying things they need or like "on the spot," and if money is lacking, they take out loans or use hire purchase. As a result, they have now amassed PLN 6.5 billion (EUR 1.5 billion) worth of debt, with the average amount being PLN 10,300 (EUR 2,420). The highest personal debt is over PLN 6 million (1.4 million) and has been run up by a 31-year-old man.
The Polish 25 to 35 year olds often start with the minimum salary (PLN 1,530 - EUR 359.5 net) and cannot afford to buy an apartment - even renting one can be a challenge. So they are more likely to spend on needs or things which are not necessarily essential, but make life easier and more pleasurable - such as smartphones or tablets. But this often leads to "unpaid installments with banks, loan firms and shops," says Jakub Kostecki of the debt-collecting company Kaczmarski Inkasso.
The indebted Generation Y-ers are mostly male (73 percent); as for location, the biggest debts have been amassed in the Śląskie province (southern Poland), followed by Mazowieckie (central Poland) and Dolnośląskie (southwestern Poland).
Poland's 25 to 35 year olds owe the most to debt-collectors and securitisation funds (PLN 2.7 billion - EUR 630,000), followed by banks, loan providers and insurance companies (PLN 1.97 billion - EUR 460,000) and alimony obligations (PLN 1.2 billion - EUR 280,000).
Moreover, when contacted by debt-collectors they declare outright that they do not have a head for figures, and many are surprised that loans and installments have to be paid off over months or years.
"Yet this does not prevent them from making further purchases on credit," the Kaczmarski Inkasso official added.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Shutterstock