Christmas I.O.Us ‘replacing presents’

Many consumers are avoiding the spectre of piling up credit card debt on their spending by giving I.O.Us out instead – and then buying the presents in question for less in the sales.

This was the finding of a survey by uSwitch.com, which found 26 per cent of consumers are considering such action to save cash, with 39 per cent saying their reason for doing so is they cannot afford the things they want to buy at normal prices.

Such a problem may beset those who already have debt management concerns, meaning there is little spare cash to splash out at this time.

However, there may be another issue that those whose budgets are tight could be troubled by – the fact that items costing lots of money in the run-up to Christmas are then on sale for much less a few days later.

The survey found 88 per cent of consumers are angry when they see this happen.

Commenting on the survey findings, director of consumer policy at the site Ann Robinson said: "Many of us will be feeling the pinch this Christmas. But on top of the financial burden, we're fed-up of seeing the gifts that we have struggled to afford going into the bargain bucket just a few days after Christmas when the sales begin."

And she suggested family members will accept I.O.Us as they will appreciate the financial pressures many consumers are under.

Meanwhile, some people will waste money buying unnecessary extra presents and those who do so are more likely to be women than men, according to a study by National Savings and Investments.
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By Joe White