Thursday 25th of June 2009
Debt management is becoming more difficult for credit card users as providers increasingly reject balance transfer applications, new research has suggested.
A study by uSwitch found that two million attempts to move debt over to cards with lower interest rates were turned down over the last 12 months, while 3.32 million credit card applications were refused in total.
In addition, there were substantial falls in the number of zero per cent products on offer, with an 83 per cent drop in the number of ten-month deals.
This means that many people could be forced to pay more interest on their credit card balances than they have previously.
If you are in this situation, a debt management plan may be able to help. A professional company can negotiate a deal with creditors on your behalf, which could see your repayments compressed into more affordable and sustainable instalments.
Louise Brand, personal finance expert at uSwitch, commented: "If there are no other options and debt is getting out of control, speak to your provider or seek professional advice."
