Take Control of Your Credit, Compare Credit Cards

In a recent report, a UK credit card payments association announced that consumers in Britain spent a total of £321 billion using plastic cards in 2006. These purchases were made with their credit cards in its various types, that is debit cards, bank credit cards, and store cards. If you compare credit cards spending with cash, 2006 is only the second year that cards outpaced cash in paying for retail purchase, but the gap widened significantly in 2006.

It also seems that consumers are getting comfortable about using plastic to pay for purchases. In 1996, or just ten years ago, consumers spent only £87 billion with plastic cards; last year’s figure is three-and-a-half times the 1996 spending. However, consumers are more at ease with debit cards: if you compare credit cards and debit cards usage, the share of credit cards was only 39 percent while debit cards garnered 61 percent.

There may be a reason why consumers are not so comfortable with credit cards. The UK Office of Fair Trading has just recently been reported to be considering measures to make it easy for consumers to locate better deals. This is a reaction to the complaint filed by a consumer group about the confusing and unclear practices of the credit card issuers in regard to costs and charges imposed on credit cards. The Office of Fair Trading hopes that their new programme will help consumers compare credit cards more easily and find the best credit card deals more quickly.

The Office of Fair Trading has noted in a research study that many consumers still do not compare credit cards before selecting the credit card that they believe is best for them. If ever you are considering a new card, you should remember that it is always to your best interest if you compare credit cards before selecting one. It is not difficult at all as there are several websites where you can make comparisons very easily.

It is likely that you’ll agree with the Office of Fair Trading in its concern about consumers who do not compare credit cards. Another research study, whose findings were published last June 2007, reports that a little over one-fifth (21 percent) of all credit card holders in the UK are not too happy with the services that they receive from their current credit card issuer.

This discontent is again traceable to failure to compare credit cards. Yet, despite their unhappiness, many of the discontented card holders prefer to do nothing. The researchers even go as far as saying that because consumers do not do anything about their unhappiness, credit card companies continue to disregard customer satisfaction in their pursuit of profits.

The research study estimates that more than 50 percent of card holders do not take the time to compare credit cards they currently hold with the other credit card deals on the market. If you are one of these consumers, you may want to reconsider: you could find better card deals than what you have right now.

Other Interesting Articles On Credit Cards Are:

Annual Fees On Credit Cards Is Just A Matter Of Time
0 Credit Cards
Avoid Bad Credit Credit Cards
Asian Credit Card Market

Back To Financial News For July