CARD SHARKS
High St stores are charging up to 30% for credit
PROUD mum Gitta Phiri beams at little Elizabeth, hardly believing her miraculous tot is alive.
For Elizabeth was born four months early at 23 weeks weighing only 1lb 4oz – less than a bag of sugar. She then spent ten weeks in an incubator.
Mum and daughter were in hospital for 103 days. When they went home it was still two weeks BEFORE the baby’s due date. After her waters broke, Gitta was sent from a walk-in centre to hospital. At St Mary’s in Manchester, Gitta, 30, was told the baby had to be delivered. She said: “They said the chances of survival were 50-50. I was crying, I was so stressed.” Elizabeth was delivered on June 27 and rushed to an incubator.
Gitta, of Oldham, said: “I’ve never seen anything so scary.”
Later, nurses taught her how to change the tiny nappies and give her child milk through a tube. After a month, Gitta could cuddle her girl. She recalled: “I was shaking and crying. It was the most beautiful moment.”
The beaming mum added: “The situation strengthened me and taught me to respect the medical professionals so much. They work so hard around the clock.
“Elizabeth is doing fine, growing all the time. She wouldn’t be here but for the care and dedication of the NHS.” HIGH street stores are levying interest of almost 30 per cent on credit cards, plunging unwary Christmas shoppers deep into debt.
Charges are nearly 120 times the Bank of England base rate – sparking fears people could face bills they cannot afford.
Anyone spending £ 200 and making a minimum monthly repayment would pay £290 interest and take eight years and three months to clear the debt.
Credit card debt has been pushed to a record high by offers of zero interest in a scramble to win customers. Official figures show households have £66.2billion of credit card debt – with a rise of £571million in October.
Citizens Advice said it helped more than 50,000 people with debt problems last year. Two thirds of them were struggling to keep up with repayments. Store cards often offer discounts on purchases. But unless customers clear the balance by the end of the month they will be stung by crippling interest rates.
Argos, Miss Selfridge and Warehouse are among store cards charging 29.9 per cent. That is despite the Bank of England cutting rates to a record low of 0.25 per cent. Charlotte Nelson of financial website moneyfacts. co.uk, which compiled the figures, said: “Store cards can be costly if customers don’t pay off the balance immediately.
“They are often wowed by discounts. But these cards charge extortionate i nterest rates compared with other credit cards.
“The lowest annual interest rate on a normal card is 6.4 per cent.”
The Finance and Leasing Association said shops are banned from offering discounts when someone opens a store card.
It added: “Most customers enjoy the benefits of a card and credit limits are usually under £1,000.” Card name Argos My Oasis New Look Warehouse Karen Millen Miss Selfridge Topshop Dorothy Perkins Mastercard Wallis Mastercard Debenhams Mastercard APR 29.9% 28.9% 28.9% 29.9% 29.9% 29.9% 19.9% 29.9% 29.9% 24.9%