New research has revealed that nearly one third of people who have claimed personal insolvency are still being harassed by their creditors.

Research by insolvency trade body R3 showed that 31% of people who were involved in pursuing a personal insolvency solution such as declaring bankruptcy or taking out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Debt Relief Order (DRO) were still frequently contacted by representatives of companies or individuals that they had borrowed from.

Of those that were harassed by creditors, 44% were those who had filed for bankruptcy suggesting that those going bankrupt are more likely to be hassled than those taking out IVA’s or DRO’s.

The President of R3, Steven Law, said: "It is astounding that individuals continue to be hounded by creditors despite coming under the protection of statutory insolvency procedures.

"The decision to file for bankruptcy is a difficult one that, once taken, is meant to stop the endless contact from creditors.
"That such a large proportion of bankrupts are not afforded the peace of mind they are entitled to is of grave concern."

As well as those pursuing bankruptcy, IVAs or DROs, 44% of those who had taken out a Debt management plans also continued to be pursued by creditors. Debt management plans allow people to make an arrangement with their creditors to repay a set amount each month, which is assessed depending on their circumstances.

R3 suggests that a ‘single gateway’ into personal insolvency might help those with debt problems due to the number of people who enter into one debt solution, only to then find that another solution might have been more appropriate for their circumstances.