September 16, 2022

16:09

Ívina Garcia and Marcela Leiros – from Amazon Agency

MANAUS – The level of indebtedness in Manaus, capital of Amazonas, with local commerce and services in August this year affects 456,212 families, equivalent to 70.4% of the analyzed public. The data is from the Consumer Indebtedness and Delinquency Survey (Peic), calculated monthly by the National Confederation of Trade of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC). Nationwide, the big villains are credit cards and installment plans.

The percentage is significantly higher than the one registered in July 2022 (67%), just above the mark of August 2021 (69.7%). According to the president of the Amazonas Regional Council of Economics (Corecon-AM), Marcus Evangelista, the number is “alarming” and caused by the lack of financial management of families.

“The lack of knowledge of a basic financial management causes this alarming number of indebted people”, he warns.

Credit cards

Also according to Peic’s data, throughout the country, the big villains are credit cards, followed by overdrafts, post-dated checks, consigned credit, personal loans, installment plans, car loans, and home loans.

“The credit card has been standing out within this indebtedness as the main inducer and in fact, and unfortunately, families don’t know how to manage the credit card, right? Unfortunately, it’s the bad consumption and to solve this problem it’s necessary to work on an antsy diet”, he explains.

The survey also showed that families earning up to ten minimum wages are the ones who are unable to pay the expenses with credit cards, accounting for 78% of the total.

Indebtedness versus delinquency

Flávio Espírito Santo, a lawyer specialized in Consumer Law, explains that there is no problem in being in debt, since it only represents the act of contracting a debt. The problem is becoming a defaulter, that is, not paying this obligation.

“Debt is the act of incurring a debt. For example: making a credit card purchase, or financing a property. There is nothing wrong in having a debt, as long as it is being paid. The defaulter is the one who is not fulfilling his obligation to pay the debt he has contracted”, he explains.

The lawyer also reminds that, to help those in debt, there is Law 14.181/21, known as the “Law of Overindebtedness”. “The ‘over-indebtedness law’ came to help those who, for various circumstances, have accumulated debts and are either delinquent or unable to pay their regular bills, such as supermarket bills, due to this excess of debt”, he adds.

The rules of the law establish that consumers will be entitled to a kind of judicial recovery to renegotiate debts with all creditors at the same time, and also prohibit any kind of harassment or pressure to seduce consumers.