New research from a debt charity has shown a record number of people contacted them in 2009 but that a third of those who called were in so much debt that they couldn’t be helped by them.

The charity said that only one quarter of those who sought help from them has the means available to commit to a debt repayment plan or take out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) which also require regular repayments on their debts.

A third of people who contacted the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) did not have enough income available to be able to enter in to any kind of repayment plan but they still did not qualify for other insolvency services such as bankruptcy.

An increasing number of those seeking help do not have enough to meet their basic living costs and simply do not have enough left to repay their debts.

The Debt charity CCCS said they received 335,323 calls during 2009 which is 25% more than the previous year.

The CCCS also said that more than 150,000 also sought help from them online, which is nearly two thirds more than a year earlier and more than double the amount of enquiries in 2007.

The charity advised those who did not qualify for any of the repayment schemes to find a way of increasing their income, such as taking on a lodger, working extra hours and making sure they were getting all the benefits they were entitled to.

The government have also announced two plans to help those with debt problems and will see some lenders considering freezing repayments or reducing the interest rates on debts for those who suffer a reduced income. The second initiative will be a new payment arrangement that will be managed through the CCCS.