More debts for Brits as credit card bills are missed
According to MoneyExpert, 332,000 credit card bills are likely to remain unpaid in January, despite the fact that the average charge for a missed credit card bill is £12.
Research also shows that ten per cent of Brits admit to having missed a credit card payment during the last twelve months, which means that the UK public were charged £47.8 million in fees in 2006.
Chief executive Sean Gardner said: “Money is always tight in January. Most of us struggle to come to terms with getting paid early in December plus heavy spending over Christmas. It’s a difficult time and this can naturally lead to some people missing a bill payment.
“Missing a bill might not seem a big deal but it won’t go away and often you’ll be charged with a fee or extra interest if you don’t pay up.”
MoneyExpert also estimated that 36,950 mortgage payments and 73,900 personal loan repayments were missed in January.
Recent findings by the BBA show that credit card lending fell by £1.8 billion last year, while the value of unsecured loans and overdrafts grew by £4.2 billion.
