Abacus Daily Debt News

Store cards bad for debtors, expert says

The proliferation of store cards has been derided by an industry expert, who stated that their existence exacerbates the levels of personal debt and can result in poor financial circumstances.

Andy Wood of insolvency trade organisation R3 and the P&A Partnership said that offering credit in shops is "frankly irresponsible".

"Without proper training, shop assistants are inappropriately qualified to understand the consequences of what they are selling and [are] often commission driven," he continued.

In addition, R3 cited figures from a recent study of industry practitioners, which revealed that 70 per cent believe it to be too easy to gain access to store cards, while some reported instances where people have held more than 30 at any one time.

This comes after Chris Tapp of Credit Action recently observed that Britons are having a "love affair" with credit cards, with people turning to plastic as a solution to the recession.

By Sarah Adie