Credit card debt `will last through 2011 for one in five`

One in five consumers (22%) will owe money on a credit card for the duration of 2011, research by comparison site Gocompare.com has found.

Furthermore, 7% of consumers will still be repaying debts incurred over Christmas last year beyond June this year, the report adds.

Recent Bank of England figures showed that the average credit card interest rate reached 16.79% in January - the highest it has been since February 2002.

An expert at debt management company Gregory Pennington said: "Credit card rates are on the rise despite the base rate being at an all-time low, so it`s important that cardholders have a clear plan for repaying their credit card debt.

"Unless the card offers a 0% interest period, it`s likely to cost a lot in interest over the course of a year. But the faster borrowers can repay their debts, the less interest they`re likely to pay overall. In fact, they may be able to avoid paying any interest at all by repaying their balance in full every month."



Gregory Pennington offer debt advice and debt management plans, as well as a range of other debt solutions. If you are worried about debt, contact one of our expert debt advisers now.