As many as 3 million Britons missed a credit
card repayment last year, which could be detrimental to their
credit profiles, according to an online survey conducted by price
comparison website, MoneySupermarket.com.
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at
MoneySupermarket.com, said: “Our research shows there’s still a
worrying number of people in the UK potentially damaging their
credit rating by failing to pay their bills on time, with credit
card bills being the most missed. A late or missed payment on a
credit card bill not only impacts your credit profile, but will
also lead to the loss of promotional rates on the card, which can
be a costly mistake.”
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MoneySupermarket.com said consumers should
prioritise monthly obligations to avoid building up high interest
rates and if essential a direct debit should be set up for the most
vital bills.
The research also highlighted what factors
people in the UK thought could damage their credit profile. The top
three reasons they gave included bankruptcy (81%), missing a
payment (73%), and having no credit history (71%).
18% believed that being on the Child Support
Agency database would affect their credit profile, with13%
believing changing jobs could have a similar effect.
“It is important that people are clear on what
could damage their credit profile to make sure they don’t get
caught out simply by not knowing,” said Munford. “Repayments
on credit cards and other financial transactions such as mortgages
and use of overdraft facilities are all recorded on your credit
file. The majority of household bills and government related fines
and payments aren’t recorded, but contract mobile phone payments
are, so it can be very easy to get caught out by not paying bills
on certain products, especially if you are not aware of the
consequences of your actions.”
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By GlobalDataThe results were compiled after 2,030 UK
adults over the age of 18 were polled in January 2012.
