Repayment changes introduced by Barclaycard could see customers needing up to 98 years to pay just £5,000 of debt.
Barclaycard is cutting the minimum monthly payment from 2.25 percent to 1.5 percent for its credit card customers.
Britain’s most popular credit card is making the move so that consumers struggling with their debt management will have more cash to pay off other outstanding loans and bills.
Customers will be paying more interest as the repayment scheme will be set over a longer period of time; essentially meaning that customers could be in debt for longer.
The consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com undertook research which has showed severe consequences for customers paying interest on a Barclaycard at 15.9% APR.
The move could mean that it would take customers a massive 98 years to repay a £5,000 debt, generating £23,000 worth of interest to pay off. At the current minimum payment, a debt of £5900 would take only 31 years to pay off.
In a statement, Barclaycard advised that it was very clear about the risks involved in paying only the minimum fee;
'This is an option we are giving selected customers. We have been very clear about the dangers of only ever making the minimum repayment.'