Several credit card customers have been found to still be in debts from last Christmas, as they are still paying off their expenses, according to research from a financial website.

According to their finding, more than 4.5 million credit card customers have not yet cleared the debts they ran up last Christmas, this represents 10 per cent of credit card customers who are yet to pay for their debts from last year. Despite this, many of them are continuing with this years’ Christmas shopping.

Paying the price for over expenditure

Customers who still have debts from 2007 are being advised to get their borrowing under control. A person, who has a repayment balance of £1,000 from last Christmas, will have spent around £169 in interest over the year if they had a 16.9 per cent interest rate.

However, there were some bright spots, as 50 per cent of adults in Brittan were found to either not get into any debt last Christmas or they paid it off in a month or less. Another nine per cent took between 2 and five months to clear their festive spending.

James Wenger, of the Savebuckets.com website, said: “With a rising number of Brits still paying for last Christmas it raises alarm bells over how the pattern will continue next year into 2009 as the economic turmoil continues."

He said: “It's really no surprise that, retailers are having a lean time when one in ten of us are still trying to pay for last Christmas.

He added: “Hopefully the realisation that another year has rolled round will encourage card users to re-structure their repayments and start clearing their debts. Certainly the options for consumers looking to switch large balances from one card to another are becoming more limited as requirements become stricter. What's more as deals expire the interest charged can be incredibly high.”

The research shows that people aged between 25 and 34 are most likely to be suffering a financial hangover from Christmas last year.

Notably there has also been a marked increase in the number adults in the same age group, who are repaying 12 month old Christmas credit card debts. In 2007 12 per cent of adults in this age bracket admitted to doing this, this year however, 15 per cent admit to it. That equates to 1.3 million adults aged between 25 and 34, more than a quarter of a million more than in 2007.

Further to this, the research showed that three per cent of British adults took two months to clear Christmas debts while another three per cent took three months. Another two per cent took four months while a further one per cent took five months.

Being savvy to conquer the crunch

Despite a tightening of procedures for credit card applications over the last 12 months, due to the credit crunch, there are still many deals available that will help people cut debts. Analysis of the market shows that currently 80 per cent of all standard credit cards now offer zero per cent balance transfer deals. That amounts to 181 cards compared with 169 at the start of the year.

An industry figure however stated that the credit crunch will not deter people from spending this Christmas.

Brad King, a managing director at another online financial website, said: “The credit crunch will not be a barrier to most people enjoying Christmas this year. In the current climate consumers have learnt to become savvier when it comes to shopping – searching for the best possible deal and being creative with their money to make it go further.”