More than 4.5 million still paying for last Christmas

More than 4.5 million credit card customers still haven't cleared debts they ran up last Christmas as a new wave of festive expenditure approaches it's climax, new research from MoneyExpert.com shows.

The independent financial comparison website warns that millions of us will be piling extra spending on top of debt run up paying for Christmas 2007. Its research shows 10 per cent of adults still haven't paid off their card bills from the last festive season.

MoneyExpert.com is urging people with debts to start getting their borrowing under control. Someone carrying a balance of £1,000 from last Christmas will have spent around £169 in interest over the year if their rate was 16.9 per cent.

The research is not all bad news - 50 per cent of adults in Brittan either didn't get into any debt last Christmas or paid it off in a month or less. Another nine per cent took between 2 and five months to clear their festive spending.

However Sean Gardner, Chief Executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: "It's really no surprise that retailers are having a lean time when one in ten of us are still trying to pay for last Christmas.

"Hopefully the realisation that another year has rolled round will encourage card users to re-structure their repayments and start clearing their debts. Certainly the options for consumers looking to switch large balances from one card to another are becoming more limited as requirements become stricter. What's more as deals expire the interest charged can be incredibly high."

The research shows that those aged 25-34 are most likely to be suffering a financial hangover from Christmas 2007. Indeed there has been a marked increase in the number adults of that age repaying 12 month old Christmas credit card debts. In 2007 12% of adults in this age bracket admitted to doing this, this year 15% admit to it. That equates to 1.3 million adults aged between 25 and 34, over a quarter of a million more than in 2007.

The research shows three per cent of British adults took two months to clear Christmas debts while another three per cent took three months. Two per cent took four months while a further one per cent took five months.

Despite a tightening of procedures for credit card applications over the last 12 months there are still many deals available that will help people cut debts.

Analysis of the market shows currently 80 per cent of all standard credit cards now offer zero per cent balance transfer deals. That amounts to 181 cards compared with 169 at the start of the year.