Alarm raised over store card policy

Wednesday, 18 November 2009 12:01

Fresh concerns have been raised over store cards after a debt-ridden graduate was able to obtain £2,750 worth of credit in high street shops.

Calls have been made for shops to review their procedures for issuing store cards after an experiment conducted by consumer champion, Which?, saw a 21-year-old man earning less than £1,000 sign up to credit at six stores.

Worryingly, he was able to get credit after two days, despite having had 12 credit checks in that time.

And eight of the 12 shops in which he requested a store card filled out the application form for him without giving him a chance to read the small print. Only one shop assistant told him he had been given a credit check.

James Daley, editor of Which? Money, said no one in the graduate's position should have been given access to such a large amount of money, especially after so many applications had been made to receive credit in such as short space of time.

"The question remains whether stores should be handing out credit at all," he added. "If shops can't lend responsibly, then the Office of Fair Trading should step in to make sure they do."

Which? is calling on retailers to share information on issuing credit and to work more closely with credit-reference agencies.

It also wants sales staff to receive better training over store cards and to ask customers permission before carrying out credit checks.

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