Credit card users ‘throwing their money away’

As much as 70 per cent of all credit card users in the UK could be throwing their money away by failing to shop around for a good deal, according to an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The study followed the filing of a so-called super-complaint by the consumer group Which? and found that there is a widespread lack of awareness of the importance of securing a competitive deal on personal finance products.

In response to its own findings, the OFT has suggested that British consumers would be less likely accumulate unnecessary credit card debt if the Financial Services Authority was to establish a price comparison website.

John Fingleton, chief executive of the OFT, commented: “No-one wants to throw money away, but consumers who don’t shop around for credit cards are doing just that.

“It is essential that consumers are given the right tools to make comparisons between credit cards more easily,” he added.

Price comparison company the Fool.co.uk recently urged credit card consumers to take care over their spending after Egg cut the borrowing limits of more than a hundred thousand of its UK customers.