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Debt in Swindon `on the rise` New debt management option "a positive step" Consumers `should get advice over IVAs, bankruptcies and DROs` Women `less likely to file for bankruptcy` Councils `filing for bankruptcy for those who fail to pay tax` Consumers lying about finances Rise in bankruptcies revealed Scottish bankruptcies on the rise, new figures suggest Borrowers `accruing more debt before seeking IVAs` Bankruptcies `high in south-west` Landlord bankruptcy enquiries `on the up` Increase in bankruptcy figures for another CAB Bankruptcy "best option" for some households 90% "choosing to `jump before they were pushed`" R3: Bankruptcies and IVAs to rise over next 12 months Insolvencies rise for automotive companies Fuel price hike sparks bankruptcy fears London bankruptcies have "quadrupled" Government department identifies fall in bankruptcy levels Insolvency figures `hide true extent of debt problems`

Customers `unwittingly charged £500m each year`

30/10/2007

Some credit card customers throughout the UK are facing bankruptcy after unwittingly paying more than £500 million a year in interest payments, according to a major building society.

Many credit card companies allocate customers` payments to the cheapest debt first, meaning that more expensive debts are allowed to accrue interest in excess of £500 million throughout the country, Nationwide has claimed.

From October 2008, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) will introduce mandatory regulations, so that the allocation of payments is shown on each credit card statement - something which Nationwide has already introduced.

Nationwide director Jeremy Wood said: "We welcome the move by the BERR to help gain more clarity for consumers, by displaying a message explaining the order of payments, but we call on the industry to do the right thing for consumers and implement the change now, rather than wait until the October 2008 deadline."

According to figures from Credit Action, the average Brit owes £4,524 in credit card payments and unsecured personal loans.

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