The ongoing risk to credit card holders

In a worrying development it has been revealed that two thirds of credit cards on offer in the UK are available to borrowers with an income of less than £10,000 a year. While this in itself is shocking enough, the fact that political party credit cards such as those provided by the Labour Party Conservative party and the Liberal Democrat party do not require any minimum income levels will surprise many across the country.



At a time when the UK government and all political parties are highlighting the need for sensible lending it would appear that they themselves are unable to put their own houses in order. Credit card debt in the UK has been one of the most damaging elements of this ongoing recession with credit card payments as a percentage of income having increased for many people. There is a need to revert back to more traditional lending and borrowing criteria although in the boom times when margins were under pressure and competition was rife it appears that credit cards were made available to everybody.



It is easy to forget, with the focus mainly on UK property, that many UK consumers will be paying back their credit card debt for years to come with some likely never to escape the spiral of debt.