Britons Gambling with their Finances

In a week when an estimated £300 million will be placed in bets on the annual Cheltenham festival, online credit report service MyCallcredit warns too many Britons are gambling with their finances.

MyCallcredit director Alison Nicholson says:

"People are still not paying enough attention to the state of their personal finances. For example, according to a recent survey by Egg, Britons tend to underestimate how much they spend on a day's shopping to the tune of £300m.

This backs up the findings of a survey commissioned by MyCallcredit which revealed that 60% of people don't know exactly how much they owe while 15% admitted they hadn't got a clue!

The credit industry is under great pressure to adopt more responsible lending policies but consumers have a duty to borrow responsibly as well. How can they do that if they don't closely monitor the level of their outstanding credit commitments? It also means they are less likely to spot if fraudsters are running up debts in their name."

MyCallcredit is an online service designed to help people keep tabs on their finances more effectively. It allows consumers to see their credit commitments at a glance via the internet. They can also receive email or sms text alerts whenever a significant change occurs on their credit file.

A free month's trial of MyCallcredit's e-alert service is available from www.mycallcredit.com