I WALKED into a certain High Street clothes store in Bolton last week and bought a new shirt for the weekend.
As I approached the counter, the assistant spotted her opportunity and offered me a 10 per cent discount on my purchase if I took out one of their store cards.
I don't own any store cards and don't really want to, but, given the current credit crunch, decided to go ahead to see what checks and balances were in place.
advertisement
All it required was a nod of the head from me to get the process rolling and a few minutes later, I had an account.
There was no credit check, no salary check, no idea of my ability to pay.
I was given a £150 limit with no questions asked and also with no mention of the interest rate.
When I asked, the girl didn't know. I have since found out, after scrutinising the small print, that it is a whopping 26.5 per cent APR.
To make matters worse, my purchase, which I intended to pay for separately, was added to my card as a debt.
There is a chance I might well forget about that debt, which is exactly what the shop wants you to do.
By the time they remind me, interest charges will probably have doubled it and the management will be rubbing their hands together, having effectively charged me twice for the cost of an initial 10 per cent discount.
I intend to pay that money off as soon as possible and then close the account, although I wouldn't be surprised if they put as many obstacles in my way as possible and even charge me a closure fee or something equally ridiculous.
The point of this tale is to show that retail businesses are still exploiting consumers by tempting them into debts with massive interest rates they can't afford.
All the talk of lenders acting more responsibly during our recent economic worries is clearly rubbish, when anybody above the age of 16 can walk into a High Street shop without a penny to their name and come out with £150 worth of clothes on credit at a 25 per cent plus interest rate.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
