More people miss credit card repayments
Published On 29 January 2008
Over the past six months more than five million people have missed monthly payments on credit cards, a new study has shown.Consumer website MoneyExpert.com showed that 11 per cent of credit card customers missed a payment over the period, two per cent more than in the previous half year.
This means that consumers spent an additional £11 million on late payment fees over the six months.
"Debt worries have shot up the agenda as people start to count the cost of the UK's borrowing spree over the past few years," commented Sean Gardner, chief executive of the site.
"Missing a credit card payment comes at a financial cost of £12 a time but there are other factors to consider.
"The effect of a payment can last as long as three years on your credit file and it will be used by firms to decide whether they're going to lend you cash and what they're going to charge."
The study showed that 15 per cent of people in London have missed card payments, compared to only nine per cent of consumers from the north.
Recent data from the British Bankers' Association indicated that people spent slightly more on their credit cards in December than they did in the previous months.
