Jack Chen has never defaulted on a loan since he began borrowing to cover expenses during his internship days, but his credit report now carries a red flag because of his swelling debt burden, and new loan applications are being rejected.
That leaves the 27-year-old telecoms maintenance worker from Jiangsu province facing a default of around 140,000 yuan ($20,685) - equivalent to about a year's wages - across credit cards, online borrowing and a car loan, after his employer cut pay and scrapped a fuel allowance this year.
