The shadow chancellor George Osborne has announced his belief that Britain is "addicted to debt" and that he is disgusted with the high street shops who believe it is acceptable to offer shoppers credit cards also known as store cards when the have excessive interest rates.

Mr Osbourne believes that the Office of Fair Trading needs to obtain new levels of control over such goings on and somehow punish these retailers when they push unreasonable store cards.

Conservative calculations have dictated that the population of the UK owe around 2.2 billion pounds worth on store cards and the number of people with this form of account has near doubled in number from 7 million to 13.4 million over the last five years.

Some of these store cards that are on offer charge around 29.9 per cent or more for the privilege of their use, which is almost twice that it would be on an average credit card rate.

The Tories feel that if their plans go through the OFT would need to penalize those with "excessive" interest rates of 25 per cent and above. Mr Osborne said: "We've got a big problem in Britain, we're addicted to debt, and we are seeing the consequences of that as the credit crunch hits, and everyone is finding it more and more difficult with the rising cost of living.

"I think the role of the next Conservative government is to stop Britain's addiction to debt, and make sure when we next have a financial crisis or economic problem, that we are much better prepared that we are at the moment.

"I'm not telling people whether they should take out a store card, I'm just setting out the boundaries to ensure fair play. We all have to pick up the pieces when people get out of control with their debts. He added: "While many people borrow responsibly, there are a growing minority who struggle to pay their loan bills. With the cost of living rising, that is likely to get worse.

"We need to take steps now to deal with the current problem and make sure that in future we don't repeat the mistake and let Britain become hooked on debt."

The Tories would also start up a free national financial advice service, giving unbias and independent help with people’s finances via face-to-face sessions, telephone advisers and online information, Mr Osborne said.

This advice service would be pushed out over Britain hopefully within 12 months of a Conservative Government coming to office. It would cost around £50 million per year to keep functioning and this would be funded by a new "social responsibility levy" on the financial services industry, the party said.