New research has suggested that Brits are not planning to pay back the debt on their credit cards for another six months.

The survey, conducted by a price comparison website, revealed that nearly one-third of credit card holders have no intention to settle outstanding balances until next year.

The website is encouraging consumers to think again, as banks are poised to send credit card rates soaring in the near future.

Popular purchases leading up to the Christmas period, such as Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation consoles, will end up costing over nine per cent more as a result of leaving debt to mount up for 12 months, the report showed.

Peter Harrison, credit cards expert at the website, said: "People must be extremely careful about carrying debt on credit cards for long periods of time – you don’t want to be paying for this year’s presents when the Christmas decorations are rolled out again next year; particularly as rates could be at new dizzy heights".

The Association of British Credit Unions, recently claimed that more people are choosing to place their savings and funds for Christmas into a credit union in order to make sure they are safe.