According to new research, consumers who are reluctant to use
credit cards in the current climate are carrying around 38m unused
cards in their wallets. More than 16m consumers have at least two
credit cards they don't use, and almost one in 10 surveyed claimed
to have four spare credit cards for use in emergencies.
In total these unused credit cards provide a total credit limit
of more than £200bn, and according to www.Uswitch.com, the average
consumer has almost £12,000 of unused credit available to
them at any time.
With job losses on the rise and more banks refusing to extend
credit limits, many consumers are reluctant to close their unused
accounts and as a result are carrying around thousands of pounds of
unused credit in their wallets as their account remains
dormant.
Carrying around unused credit cards may be a result of consumers
spending less money at the moment, but unfortunately it also leaves
people open to fraud. Recent figures from the UK Cards Association
show a rise in card fraud recently and fraudsters often target
dormant accounts as they have a lower risk of being caught in the
act if the cards are registered at an old address.
Read the full story here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/creditcards/5886249/Consumers-hoard-38m-unused-credit-cards.html
www.ukash.com