Personal debt levels have become a huge problem for many individuals and households, and these are further exacerbated with the use of things such as credit cards and store cards that come with crippling rates of interest, leading to spiraling and unmanageable debt levels for some people. However, when it comes to store cards many consumers end up taking out these costly cards because they feel pressured into it by sales staff.
This is something that has now been recognized by officials and according to recent reports shops and stores are now going to be banned from using hard sell tactics in order to boost the number of people taking out cards, which includes a ban on free gifts and discounts, which are often used to lure people into spending money that they do not have.
For struggling shoppers whose finances are tight, the offer of a store card along with discounts and free gifts can seem like a very tempting offer. However, once they start using the card, unless they are able to repay the balance in full each month, they are charged crippling amounts of interest and the debt can quickly spiral out of control.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, said: “The public told us that consumers can be tempted into taking out a store card by being offered a discount at the till. We’ve listened to these concerns and have worked with industry to develop a strong package of measures in response. This ban will mean that stores will not be able to offer discounts, free gifts or similar incentives to encourage consumers to take out store cards at the point of sale, or for the first seven days.”
Tags: strong package, something, staff, British Retail Consortium, treasury, debt, sale