The internet site rejected claims that it was a result of people struggling to meet their debt repayments and more a sign of inertia and apathy.

“The majority of people do not have serious debt problems, they just forget,” said Robert Kenley of Moneysupermarket.com.

“I am surprised at the number of people who incur them [but] I am not surprised at the banks that charge them,” he continued. “People are ill-disciplined.”

Mr Kenley advised setting up a direct debit to your credit card if you are the kind of person who is liable to forget about the bill when it comes in and therefore get lumbered with heavy fines for missing payment deadlines.

Although the Office of Fair Trading has come down hard on credit card companies recently for charging extortionate late-payment fees, the fees are not being abolished so consumers should still be wary of missing or delaying paying off credit cards.

To read more about credit cards, click here.

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