Image: Jyrki Lyytikkä / Yle

Most typically, males aged 25-34 are having the biggest problems keeping up with paying their bills. Nearly 16 percent of all listings for payment defaults are for people in this group.

Overall, the numbers have shot up in recent years. At present, 370,000 people in Finland are listed as being in default on payments of one kind or another. That is an increase of 50,000 since 2010.

The CEO Jouni Muhonen of Suomen Asiakastieto, which not only keeps a default registry, but also provides credit managements services, says the trend is worrying.

"An alarming number of people are paying old loans by taking new ones," says Muhonen.

During the period of January-September over a million payment defaults were recorded in the country. Defaulting on loan payments, credit card payments, rent, taxes and phone bills has become increasingly common, with the average outstanding balance amounting to over 2,000 euros.

While the same individual may have hundreds or even thousands payments in default, the average in the data collected by Suomen Asiakastieto is 17.