22 December 2006
Consumers are still showing shortcomings when it comes to APR on store cards, according to an Alliance & Leicester spokesperson.
Steve Gracey expressed his concern that, in the run-up to Christmas, more and more shoppers will succumb to the offer of discount store cards, without thinking about the bigger picture.
He said: "People aren't aware that if they take out one of these cards, they may have a ten or 15% discount waved in front of their eyes, but they are not really aware that they are signing up for something that could be as much as 30% APR.
"If you don't pay off the balance there and then, the interest starts to accrue. When it's 30% it can get quite hefty."
According to Alliance & Leicester research, nearly one in four people used a store card for their Christmas shopping this year, with more than one in two happy to sign up to a card at the point of purchase.
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