There were also fewer people who said to have missed a payment in the last 12 months - 11 per cent compared to 13 per cent at the start of the year.

Banks and building societies increasingly use cashback or redeemable points to attract customers. Lorraine Poyser pays her credit card bill in full every month to benefit.

Rod Chaytor shares his first-hand experience of what it is like to be the quarry of the ruthless and relentless loan industry.

The watchdog estimates the move could save a typical payday customer £60 a year - the equivalent of £45million a year saved across the UK.

'How can we scare them?', you can imagine bosses asking before signing off on the plan. What other other motivation could have been in their minds?

Borrowers will pay nothing to shift a negative balance to the card, saving £46 on the average transfer of £1,855, compared to a card charging 2.5 per cent.

Laura Shannon speaks to teachers, parents and pupils about personal finance and looks at the lessons that everyone needs to learn.

The card also offers the low rate on purchases and is one of only a small number available that allow borrowers to shift cash to a current account without being charged.

One in five of us withdraws cash using a credit card on average seven times a year. David Smart says he should have read the small print.

They are promoted as the best way to clear debts, but half of all balance transfers are not repaid interest-free, we reveal the ruses credit card firms use to make money.

People living in PE7 0, which covers Coates, Hampton, Folksworth, Yaxley and Whittlesey in the Peterborough area, have the highest level of personal debt per head at £1,978 per person.

More than a quarter of over-50s who have re-married and had more children in their 30s or 40s say they still have a mortgage, with an average debt of £73,881.

Personal insolvency figures saw an upswing caused by a rise in people taking out individual voluntary arrangements - but insolvencies among firms dropped.