Store cards are ‘devil in disguise’

Store cards are the effectively the devil in disguise as far as consumers should be concerned, it has been claimed.

According to Ed Bowsher from price comparison firm Fool.co.uk, shoppers are seeing their debt management problems become much worse by falling into the trap of using expensive store card credit.

The comments from Mr Bowsher come after research by Fool.co.uk found that the setting up of annual percentage rate (APR) limit for store card providers has had little impact on the amount of interest being paid each month by consumers.

He said: “Store card-holders should be aware of the high interest rates which come hand in hand with introductory offers – and should remember that these cards are designed to make you spend, rather than help you save money.”

According to figures from Credit Action, the typical British household pays out around £3,790 each year to service the interest on their debt management burden.

Written by Giles Stevenson