Research from Chiltern has shown that many people are dismissing debt accrued on things such as a credit card or finance agreement, and not addressing the problem before it gets out of hand.
The group found that more than one in 16 consumers in the UK have to spend a quarter of their monthly salary paying off unsecured debts.
A spokesperson for Chiltern warned: "There are lots of people who are officially 'overindebted', but two thirds of them don't think they have a problem."
She added:"Unfortunately debts don't go away, they need to be repaid and ignoring them will just make the situation worse."