According to the price comparison website MoneySupermarket.com, the cost of Christmas this year could leave many families struggling with debt problems for years to come.
There are many things to buy at Christmas, from decorations and presents to festive food and drink, and many families may find their income will not stretch far enough. This is why many may start to amass loan or credit card debt in order to have a great family Christmas.
The site’s researchers worked out that if people give into temptation and use credit cards to cover the cost of Christmas this year, they could be paying off what they owe until the year 2023. This estimate is based on people only making the minimum repayments every month.
Using the example of a consumer with a balance of £500 on their credit card, which has an average of 18.12 per cent APR, MoneySupermarket.com worked out that it would take 11 years and 8 months to pay off the debt, if only the minimum 2.5 per cent repayments were being made every month.
Furthermore, anyone who found themselves in this position would have to pay an extra £477 on their original debt to cover the interest payments.
The head of banking at the price comparison website, Kevin Mountford, said:
“The festive period is an expensive time of year and many may be thinking about using their flexible friend to tide them over this season. It’s important festive spenders use the most appropriate card option to suit their needs.”
A new survey has shown that payday loans are making consumer debt problems worse in the UK, with up to 41 per cent of people admitting their own financial troubles are a result of payday lending.
The charity Debt Advice Foundation (DAF) conducted the survey, which showed rapid growth in the number of people taking [...]
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A leading cancer care and support charity has warned that more than two-thirds of cancer patients are experiencing debt problems, at a time when money is the last thing they need to worry about.
A survey of 1,500 patients conducted by YouGov on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Support showed that 66 per cent were facing [...]
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Four of the members of the famous reggae group UB40, all of whom went through bankruptcy proceedings recently, have debt problems totalling £750,000.
Drummer Jimmy Brown, saxophonist Brian Travers, percussionist Norman Hassan and trumpet player Terence Oswald were all forced into bankruptcy last month at Birmingham County Court, despite the fact that they sold more than [...]
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Written on
November 9, 2011 by Steve Shaw in
Bankruptcy
New figures released by the Insolvency Service show that the number of personal bankruptcy cases reported in the UK fell slightly in the last few months. However, the data also shows that UK businesses are still struggling to stay afloat.
According to the statistics, the number of personal bankruptcy cases fell by around 300 between [...]
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A couple have appeared before a magistrate’s court accused of claiming more than £28,000 in unemployment benefits despite the fact they were working.
Christine and Lee Martin, from Haverhill in Suffolk, blamed their mounting debt problems as the reason why they decided to commit benefit fraud. Both Christine, 33, and Lee, 37, admitted numerous charges [...]
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A businessman from Oldham in Greater Manchester has been caught running a firm with his son despite being banned from doing so in a long-standing bankruptcy order.
William Fox, 56, went through bankruptcy proceedings many years ago, in 1994. However, at the time, the Stalybridge businessman failed to provide the official receiver with the required information. [...]
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A young man who was struggling with serious debt problems turned to dealing drugs in order to pay what he owed, a Staffordshire court heard recently.
Joshua Walker, 19, was arrested after police obtained a search warrant for his Chell Heath home, and found a stash of cannabis, plus electronic scales and a mobile phone which [...]
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The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has published a nationwide map identifying the areas in the UK where people were most affected by debt problems in 2010.
Called Debt View, the map identified the South East as the region which was worst hit by debt, as on average residents owed a total of £21,581. The situation [...]
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The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned that debt collectors may be pursuing people on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Numerous complaints have been received by the OFT from people with debt problems, who say they are being chased for what they owe online.
The main concern for the OFT is [...]
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