Festive repayments ‘could last until 2016’

Shoppers who only make minimum credit card repayments on their spending over the Christmas period could remain in debt until 2016, it has been claimed.

According to moneysupermarket.com, it could take up to seven years to pay off a credit card balance and become debt free if a shopper only makes minimum repayments on the £376 expected to be spent on average this Christmas.

Peter Harrison of the price comparison website urged shoppers to apply for a zero per cent purchase card if they are planning on buying with plastic over the festive period.

“The key benefit of any zero per cent card is that all of the monthly repayment goes towards clearing the outstanding balance and therefore the debt can be cleared much quicker,” he explained.

CreditExpert.co.uk’s Darryl Bowman recently called for people to be financially sensible over Christmas, noting that financial planning can help prevent getting into unnecessary debt.

By Tom Musk