6m have a year of debt on credit cards

More than six million people have had an outstanding balance on their credit card for a year or more.

And almost one in ten people admit they only pay off the minimum amount of their credit card each month, according to research by Moneysupermarket.com
This has lead to 14% of people having debt on their credit card for over five years.
If consumers fall into the dangerous trap of only paying off the minimum amount on their credit card it can be a vicious cycle.
The interest charged on their balance means the total amount they pay back skyrockets.
For example, it would take someone paying back the monthly minimum repayment on £1,000 borrowed, at 18.13% APR, 17 years to repay their debt.
More shockingly, the amount of interest they would pay is £1,113 ? meaning they end up paying back more than double the original sum borrowed.
The average length of time a balance is left outstanding on cards is currently a whopping 21 months, so making sure consumers understand their repayment structure is crucial.
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: 'Our research reveals credit cards are still playing an important role in the nation's finances, but in the current climate, it's more important than ever for consumers to understand the cheapest way to borrow on their cards and avoid getting stung by high interest rates.
'The most important thing is that consumers understand the implications of borrowing on a credit card and that paying back the minimum amount each month will dramatically increase the total amount they pay back in the long run.'
'Credit cards are not designed for long term lending and anyone with an outstanding balance on their card should consider switching to a product offering 0% interest on balance transfers, allowing them to pay back the debt without incurring any further interest charges.'
Moneysupermarket.com asked customers if they had an outstanding balance on their card for more than a year. The figure was then applied to the UK adult population to calculate that 41%, or six million Britons are in debt on their credit card for more than a year.
What can you do if this is you?
This is Money says: If you have a long-standing credit card balance you need to do three things:
1) Give yourself a reality check with our calculator
2) Shift your debt on to cards with the lowest interest rate
3) Start paying it off
To get your debt on to the best interest rate possible you need to investigate balance transfer cards. These will allow you to transfer your outstanding debt and cut your interest rate. They are not as easy to find as they once were but there are still plenty around with long 0% interest rate periods. Just make sure you take into account the fees involved - between 2% and 3% on most cards - with transferring debt.
Once you have the debt at the best possible rate, it is time to make a plan to repay it within the length of the 0% deal. If you can't do that, a life of balance transfer card may be better - this gives a low rate for the entire time the balance is on the card.
A word of warning though. Make sure you don't spend on the card. This will get you further into debt and in many cases the credit card company will stick this more expensive debt under the balance transfer and it will sit their building up interest unable to be paid off. The link below will help you find balance transfers with no fees or low fees.
›› The best fee free balance transfer cards
›› Use our comparison tool to list long 0% balance transfer deals


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