Credit consumers urged to ‘choose the right card’

Credit-hungry consumers in the UK have been urged to consider their options and choose the most appropriate form of borrowing available to them.

Martyn Saville from the consumer group Which? is convinced that borrowers could avoid facing unnecessary fees and charges in relation to their credit card debt if only they did their homework before entering a particular arrangement.

He also suggests that buying goods via store card credit can often prove to be an expensive way to borrow money and sometimes leaves consumers struggling to clear debt.

“If you do want to use a store card, for example to get an initial discount in your favourite shop, we would advise you to pay off your balance in full when the first statement arrives so as to avoid high interest charges,” said Mr Saville.

“It is essential to choose a credit card that suits your needs and it is often useful to have different cards for different purposes,” he added.

More than four million credit card bills went unpaid during the first six months of this year, according to figures compiled by MoneyExpert.com.