Credit card lenders urged to ‘be sensible’

Credit card lenders have been urged to be more sensible over how much money they let their customers borrow.

According to a report from Moneysupermarket.com, British consumers currently have roughly £55.6 million in credit card debt but that figure would be almost five times higher if all cards were maxed-out.

Lenders need to be realistic about how much credit card debt they allow to be used rather than relying on the prudence of individual card holders, the price comparison firm maintains.

“To have a further £198 billion available to spend on credit is crazy,” said Steve Willey, head of credit cards at Moneysupermarket.com.

“To put it into context, that is more than the government spends annually on health and education put together.”

Last week, Moneysupermarket.com reported that homeowners in the UK are increasingly using personal loans and credit card debt in order to meet their mortgage repayment demands.

By Giles Stevenson