Consumer laws too late for man with credit card debts of €35,000

THE new consumer laws have come too late for one man who managed to rack up debts of €35,000 on his credit cards, after banks kept on upping his credit limit.

The man, who eventually turned to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) for help, at one point had five credit cards despite rising levels of debt.

MABS spokesman Michael Culloty said: “The man was in his late 20s and he was using his cards to pay off the others. He had three cards with one company and they stopped his cards but he just went to another company to get a credit card. If you are paying off your credit cards and things look all right then you automatically get an increase on your credit limit with no questions asked.”

Borrowers who fall behind with their mortgage payments or other debts are also tempted to turn to their credit cards - and fall into further trouble because of the automatic increases.

“They may have a €8,000 to €10,000 credit limit and begin to use that, thinking that tomorrow might bring a change in circumstance. They use the credit card, I suppose, to put off the evil hour of facing up to their financial situation. It’s the increasing credit limit that allows them to do that,” said Mr Culloty. “What we need is a comprehensive credit register where all a person’s credit agreements are registered,” he said.

This would mean finance companies at a glance would be able to see how much people had borrowed from all lenders before deciding whether to lend them more.

l Debt advice is available on the Money Advice and Budgeting Service website at www.mabs.ie