Don’t get stuffed this Christmas. How to avoid the dreaded financial hangover in 2008

19 December 2007

The high street tills are ringing as consumers are spend, spend, spending this Christmas. But with an estimated £2bn wasted on unwanted Christmas gifts last year alone (1), are we putting our money towards the right things and have we thought about the consequences for 2008?

Credit report provider Callcredit is offering some tips to help people avoid a financial hangover this Christmas:

Don’t be a Christmas turkey	Do be a financial angel
Don’t panic buy on credit in the run up to Christmas	Do check your credit report online for a simple assessment of your credit rating
Don’t go overspend on seemingly ‘bargain’ special offers	Do check whether goods are returnable or refundable when bought in the sale
Don’t forget to shop around	Do use price comparison sites and shop around online for the best deals.
Don’t use all the same passwords and pin numbers online – you’ll be setting yourself up to become an ID fraud victim	Do regularly change your passwords online and don’t use something obvious like your mother’s maiden name or date of birth

Owen Roberts, head of MyCallcredit comments, “With Christmas costing the average person more money year-on-year, we should all take time to make sure our Christmas spending doesn’t leave us with a financial hangover in the New Year.”

Sources

1 – Research conducted by WorldVision, December 2006

About Callcredit:

Callcredit (www.callcredit.co.uk) is the UK's most innovative, state-of-the art credit reference agency, with an extensive range of information and value added services for businesses and individuals.
MyCallcredit is the consumer arm of credit reference agency Callcredit and provides consumers with online access to the details of their credit file at http://www.mycallcredit.com/
Callcredit has harnessed state-of-the-art information technology with an unrivalled knowledge of the industry's needs to develop a range of innovative information solutions. Solutions that are enabling major lenders and a host of other blue chip companies to address regulatory requirements, make better credit decisions, target new customers more effectively and manage existing customers more profitably.
Callcredit forms part of the Skipton Information Group, and is one of five core businesses along with database management company EuroDirect, market analysis firm GMAP Consulting, online payment service provider, Legatio and DecisionMetrics, specialists in the development and implementation of scorecards and affordability assessment.

For further press information contact: Jane Fordham, Katie Moore or Sophie Smith at the Callcredit Press Office on 0207 067 0600 or callcreditpr@golinharris.com

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