Action for Children warns of Christmas debts

21/11/2008

A charity issued a warning today for "vulnerable" families who might be tempted by catalogue credit and store cards this Christmas.

Action for Children carried out a poll with Barclays, questioning people on low incomes about how they would fund this year's festivities.

They found that half of the people they asked did not know what an APR was.

One in seven said that they were considering taking out a loan from a "doorstep" lender, far more than the number planning to take out a low-interest loan from a credit union.

Meanwhile, one in four planned to use credit through a catalogue, while 20 per cent said that they would use a store card.

Clare Tickell, chief executive of Action for Children, said: "This survey underlines what we already knew from our work with some of the most vulnerable families in the country - that those most likely to be tempted to take out loans at Christmas are unfortunately the least likely to know what it's going to cost them.

"It's vital that those on the lowest incomes have all the facts at their fingertips before committing to what otherwise could be a very costly decision."

Tags; Debt Management and Banking, Credit Card Lifestyle,

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