Credit cards

Credit card charges earn the industry £1 billion a year, according to Which?

One in four credit card holders were charged for exceeding their limit or missing a payment over the last year, according to a survey.

The consumer magazine said some firms sent statements out late and used second class post, giving customers less time to pay.

It said the charges, usually between £20 and £25, were out of proportion to the costs incurred by the companies.

The industry dismissed the criticisms as out of date.

Stakeholder Response: Which?

Malcolm Coles, editor of Which?, said: "The credit industry has an alarming number of tricks up its sleeve to wring every last penny it can out of its customers.

"Lenders seem to have no qualms about persuading people to take on more debt than they can afford and they'll carry on doing it as long as they get away with it.

"This huge industry does everything it can to encourage people to borrow more than they planned to, and catches them out with deliberately confusing deals and hidden charges."

Stakeholder Response: APACS - the UK payments clearing association

A spokeswoman for the Association for Payment Clearing Services said: "I think this report is out of date. If they had written this 18 months ago I would have understood.

"It doesn't seem to take into account the prompt response we made to the Treasury select committee and the development of summary boxes which highlight the key costs of the card upfront."