More Britons missing credit card payments

By Sarah Engle, Tue 7 Feb 2012 - Published in Credit Cards

One in six people in the UK failed to pay a bill on time in 2011 with credit cards being the main source of missed deadlines.

Research by Moneysupermarket.com found that eight million Brits failed to pay at least one bill in the past 12 months and whilst credit cards topped the chart other costs such as council tax were also missed.

The biggest culprits were people living in Scotland and Wales where 22 per cent neglected to pay their bills whilst the East Midlands faired the best with only nine per cent missing a payment.

Experts believe that once a bill is missed the interest can mount up leaving people struggling to pay back what they originally owed combined with late payment fines.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at Moneysupermarket.com, said: "A late or missed payment on a credit card bill not only impacts your credit profile, but will also lead to the loss of promotional rates on the card, which can be a costly mistake."

Many consumers could turn to payday loans as a way to get out of the debt amassed by late payments and members of the Welsh Assembly have accused companies of "sucking money" out of the country.

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