Many paying for fuel with credit cards

For many people credit cards have provided a convenient and simple means of making payments instead of paying cash or using cheques. However, it appears that these days credit cards have become an essential tool to help people afford to fill up their cars so that they can get around. Many people have used their cards at petrol stations in the past simply because of the convenience that they provide. However, these days people are said to be using them out of necessity.

As all drivers will know the cost of petrol and diesel has rocketed over recent months, and the cost of filling up a tank has soared. As a result of this many people have had to resort to using their credit cards to pay for fuel at petrol stations because they cannot afford to do anything else, and this has sparked concerns about the knock on effect that this will have on consumer debt levels.

Daily living costs have soared in many areas recently, yet many people have seen their pay either frozen or reduced because of the recession and the financial climate, which has left most struggling to cope with the rise in the cost of living. Many people are not only paying for their fuel with their credit cards but are also now meeting other essential living costs with their cards. Many are unable to make much more than the minimum repayment after using their cards to this degree and will come to a point where they have maxed out their card and have massive debts to pay as well as still having to find a way to meet the cost of living.

One official said: “With inflation hitting 4.4 per cent last month, it’s not surprising that many families need to resort to using their credit cards for more and more living expenses. But we believe this does highlight just how important it is to keep on top of credit commitments overall.”

Tags: credit commitments, climate, consumer, knock, consumer debt levels, credit