Credit Card Debt Statistics

Be prepared to be shocked!

This page will make some people feel a whole let better, or a whole lot worse. Either way, these credit card debt statistics and information are cold hard facts.

• In the first 6 months of 2007, 4.1m credit card bills were missed. Based on an average of £12 for a late payment fee, the credit card industry would have raked in another £49.2m pounds on top of the interest still accumulating
• Total credit card debt in the UK at July 2007 was £53.5bn
• The average interest rate on credit card lending is currently over 17%, around 11% above base rate.
• In 2006 there were 181m Plastic cards in issue. This works out at just under 4 plastic cards for every adult in the UK. In 2005 there were 160m. Those new 21m cards Laid end to end they would reach Gibraltar.
• There are more credit cards in the UK than people according to APACS. At the end of 2006 there were 74.4m credit and charge cards in the UK compared with around 60 million people in the country.
• According to the BBA (British Banking Association) the proportion of credit card balances increasing with interest was over 74% in June 2007.
• Based on above figures of £53bn debt means there is £39bn owed that bears interest at 17%APR. This results in an annual income of £6bn for the credit card industry.
• 32% of couples lie to their partners over how much they spend on their credit cards
• 9% of people have taken out a new credit to pay off another
• 10% of people have missed a payment on their credit card,loan or mortgage.

source:credit action

Did that make you feel better or worse?

If it made you feel a little bit better then that is actually bad - the temptation might now be to put one's head in the sand and forget about it because everyone else is worse off. Why not see if you can shift your thinking the other way and be the first to sort it out. Remember - the nations debts will not be written off by some act of kindness by HM Treasury or a credit card firm.