too early to know on credit crunchThe long-term effects of the credit crunch are unlikely to be known for a considerable period of time, the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) has said.

The organisation believes that there may be a rise in the number of people declaring themselves insolvent, but this will not materialise until debt levels have built up over a number of months.

Nonetheless, it's likely to be leisure and luxury items that Britons choose to cut down on in an effort to keep their costs down, the CCCS added.

"The thing with insolvency is that it takes quite a long time for the debt levels to build up before people have to declare themselves insolvent," noted CCCS James Ketchell.

"There is a risk that people on cheap fixed-rate mortgages will in the future be forced onto more expensive products, so they will have to address their spending as a consequence of that," Mr Ketchell warned.

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