By Leah Milner

Pay zero interest on your Xmas spending

BORROWERS who are struggling to pay off their hefty Christmas credit card bills should consider shifting their debts to an interestfree deal.

Balance transfer deals are the cheapest they’ve been in a decade, according to figures from personal finance data provider Moneyfacts.

The average fee to move a balance is now 2.03 pc, down from 2.29 pc a year ago.

The longest 0 pc balance transfer deal is currently 38 months with Barclaycard, giving you more than three years to get on top of your debt while saving on those interest charges.

There is a 1.4 pc fee — so, £35 on a typical £2,500 balance. MBNA also has a 38-month offer with a 1.44 pc fee. If you don’t need quite as long to clear your balance, Lloyds has a 33-month deal with an even lower fee at 0.57 pc, or £14.25. Some banks reserve their longest 0 pc offers for those with a strong credit rating. It means that you may get a shorter deal than the one you applied for or you could be rejected altogether.

Be sure to repay your debt within the offer period or switch your balance to another deal when it ends or you’ll pay interest at around 20 pc. And beware, if you miss any payments your bank may cancel your deal early.

Borrowers tend to remain indebted for l onger than was previously thought, Bank of England research has found.

It says 89 pc of outstanding consumer debt in November 2016 was held by people who also owed debt two years earlier.