Shocking 60 Plus Percent of Britons Using 0% Balance Transfer Cards for Purchases

A study has unveiled that 63 percent of consumers in the UK are using credit cards with 0% balance transfers for new spending despite the fact that this will nearly always lead to a higher cost in the end due to building a negative payment history with credit reporting agencies. According to this study, UK customers also take these credit card offers and make all new purchases that build their debts up even higher. Almost a third of those using a balance card said they did not intend to do this when they first applied for the card, but the sad fact is that doing so will lead them into even further debt.

The purpose of the balance transfers is, reportedly, to help consumers control their own debt and pay it off more quickly, but the zero interest deals are apparently too much of a lure towards new merchandise and end up paying extremely high, even double, interest after the introductory offer period is over. After this point, the interest tends to go back up and can be a tremendous shock to consumers that had hoped to simply spend and forget. The mounting debts then begin to snowball and many end up wishing they had first opted for a smart move such as a debt management plan rather than taking on more spending despite the sweetness of the zero interest offers. Once their payment histories slide further down, they often have to pay higher interest rates in other areas of their lives, too, including auto loans, home mortgages and other similar areas of their finances.

Since these situations have tricky small print conditions, one needs to be exceptionally careful in zero interest offer territory, say debt experts. The UK has already been dealing with incredible levels of debt and the situation can worsen for families that use such offers as a means of putting more time between them and their debt rather than pushing that debt down to lower levels.