Consumers in the Grey Over Credit Card Spending

The majority of people in the UK underestimate how much they spend on their credit cards, according to new research.

Over one in two people are unsure about exactly how much they put on plastic each month but they guess their average bill is £418. However, industry figures show the amount to be over £350 higher at £775 a month.

On average men spend £479 on their credit cards a month, £120 more a month than women. Londoners also tend to spend on average more on plastic at around £491 a month. Scots spend the least on £391.

Egg Money says that credit cards are a popular way of paying for goods but the number of different cards available is confusing customers as to how much they are actually spending and the frequency at which they do so. British consumers think they spend £236 billion a year but the real figure is £437 billion.

Andy Deller, Egg’s chief marketing officer said: "Plastic is clearly the choice of the UK consumer when it comes to spending, but our Egg Money research clearly indicates that the increasingly complex nature of our finances means it is often hard to keep track of how much we are spending."

Earlier this month, debt charities and the credit card industry warned that they were seeing increasing numbers of people unable to pay off large credit card bills, blaming a blase attitude towards debt among the young.