Credit cards users racking up charges

A FIFTH of credit card users risk heavy interest charges by taking more than a year to pay off their debts, research has revealed.

One in four credit card users has an outstanding balance of between £1,000 and £5,000, but three in ten pay off less than a quarter of the balance or the minimum payment each month, according to a survey by Equifax. More than one in five said it would take more than 12 months to clear their balance.

Six in ten Scots use their credit cards for everyday expenses – just below the UK average – while half put fuel spending on plastic, compared with a UK high of 68 per cent in Wales. But just 3 per cent of Scots use credit cards to pay utility bills, down from 10 per cent in parts of southern England.