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Eight million Brits missed a payment for a bill in the last 12 months, with credit card payments the most commonly missed. That is the finding by research carried out by Moneysupermarket, which found that one in six people missed a payment for at least one bill during 2011. It was found that credit card bills are the most common missed payment, with three million people missing a payment in the last year. This is a worrying statistic, as missing a credit card payment can have a detrimental effect on someone’s credit rating.
“Our research shows there's still a worrying amount of Brits potentially damaging their credit rating by failing to pay their bills on time, with credit card bills being the most missed,” said Kevin Mountford, Head of Banking at Moneysupermarket. “A late or missed payment on a credit card bill not only impacts your credit profile, but will also lead to the loss of promotional rates on the card, which can be a costly mistake.” The research found that council tax was the second most common missed bill, with almost two million Brits delaying their payment. This works out at 4% of the population – up from 3% in 2010. Other bills that Brits were missing payments on in 2011 included those for mobile phones, personal loans, Sky TV, broadband, and gas and electricity. “It is important that people are clear on what could damage their credit profile to make sure they don't get caught out simply by not knowing,” added Mr Mountford. “The majority of household bills and government related fines and payments aren't recorded but contract mobile phone payments are, so it can be very easy to get caught out by not paying bills on certain products, especially if you are not aware of the consequences of your actions.” You can compare credit cards with Money Expert.
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