Related Credit Card Article

"Overdrafts being put onto credit cards by many consumers"

By admin | May 25th, 2009 | Credit Cards

According to recently released industry figures an increasing number of people are putting their overdraft debt onto their credit cards to try and weather the difficult financial climate.

Millions of consumers are said to be doing this, and official have said that they are exploring the ability to be able to then shift their high interest credit card debt onto a balance transfer credit card, which means that effectively they end up putting their high interest overdraft debt onto an interest free balance transfer card too.

The reports claim that whilst credit card debt is continuing to grow, the level of overdraft and loan debt is starting to fall. Debit card spending is now said to account for two thirds of spending in the UK, but despite this credit card debt is found to have spiked by 8.5 percent over the past year, taking the value of credit card debt to around £25 billion.

The figures come from the British Banker’s Association. Official said that this suggests that more people are benefiting from interest free credit card deals in order to rid themselves of higher interest debts such as overdrafts.

One industry official from a debt charity said: ‘People have different attitudes to credit card debt and current account debt. They think it’s not going to affect them as much as an overdraft, which comes out of their monthly income and may affect their direct debits and lead to bank charges. They think they can rack up a lot more credit card debt.’

Another official stated: ‘This deserves further study, but it looks as if people may be transferring overdraft debt to credit cards and may even be revolving 0% balance transfer deals, adding further debts to them as they do so.’

Tags: British Banker's Association, credit card charges, credit card debt, credit card overdrafts

Related Articles:

• Number of balance transfer deals halved in four years

  It has been claimed in a recent report that the number of balance transfer deals available in the UK has halved. Balance transfer deals became very popular over the years, as they enabled those with high interest existing credit card debt to transfer the high interest balances onto a 0 percent credit card, which would...

• Increase in availability of interest free credit cards

  A recent report has claimed that the number of interest free balance transfer credit cards is on the increase, with lenders now competing to help consumers to clear their debts as cheaply as possible. Figures have shown that many customers are struggling with their existing credit card debts, and this means that a rising number...

• Reduced number of 0% balance transfer deals on market

  0% balance transfer credit cards have become increasingly popular over recent years, and many people have saved a small fortune in interest by transferring their existing high interest credit card balances onto an interest free balance transfer credit card. With these 0% balance transfer cards consumers are able to enjoy an extended period of interest...

• Start looking for balance transfer cards for New Year financial hangover

  Every year many of us go through the all too familiar process of trying to get over the financial hangover from Christmas, and this year this could prove to be a particularly harrowing time as a result of the ongoing global credit crunch and the recession, which is making finances even tighter for most people....

• Many Brits try to ignore their debt problems

  According to recent research and statistics, many consumers in the UK are simply burying their heads in the sand when it comes to dealing with debt levels, and an alarming number of those with unsecured debts actually have no idea how much they owe. The research suggests that consumers in Britain could collectively owe around...

Other Recent Articles

Finding the right credit card for Christmas shopping

Although it may seem a while before Christmas swings around it often comes around far faster than we imagine, and...

By Reno | September 9, 2010 | Read More

New credit card launched by supermarket giant

Consumers in the UK have a wide range of credit cards to choose from these days, and there are cards...

By Reno | September 9, 2010 | Read More

Interest free purchases with the Tesco Clubcard credit card

Making purchases on a credit card can work out to be very costly for those that have high interest credit...

By Reno | September 9, 2010 | Read More

Generous interest free period on balance transfers from Natwest

Many consumers are keen to save money on their borrowing, such as on their credit card borrowing, but with credit...

By Reno | September 9, 2010 | Read More

Improvements to credit card lending

According to recent reports July saw improvements when it came to credit card lending in the UK, which many believe...

By Reno | September 2, 2010 | Read More