Credit Card Debt in UK 'Overstated'

According to a new report by MORI Market Dynamics, the majority of credit card holders in the UK use their credit cards wisely and have sufficient assets to service credit card debt, even if the economy deteriorates.

It is widely assumed that the credit card is the scourge of the nation with official figures suggesting there are some 61 million cards with an average household debt of £2100, Consumers spent over £130 billion on their cards in 2003 resulting in £50 billion of arrears. However, MORI Market Dynamics believe these official figures are often misunderstood and generally misinterpreted.

The special report 'The Credit Card Myth' - part of the latest Forecasts/Consumer Finance study - contains a segmentation of credit card users and details each group's characteristics, their propensity to use credit cards and their ability to pay off the balance. It also forecasts both actual spend and future use of credit cards by consumers.

Forecasts/Consumer Finance is a syndicated forecasting service covering all the major consumer finance markets from life saving to motor insurance.

MORI's web site is at www.mori.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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