Link: http://www.moneymatchmaker.com

An industry spokesman has said that the majority of credit card holders would be unhappy if they discovered that their account suppliers pursued a policy of paying off the cheapest debt first.

According to a poll, such a revelation would make 38 per cent of customers angry, with ten per cent surprised and eight per cent shocked.

Such an arrangement - known as adverse ordering - was labelled unfair by 65 per cent of consumers and 67 per cent believe the government should act to force credit card providers to allow the most costly debt to be eliminated first.

Those faced with such methods of charging might find it cheaper to clear their cards with a debt consolidation loan.

A spokesman for mortgage lender Nationwide said: "This is a fairness issue and a positive order of payments is now the fairest way forward for consumers."

The spokesman added that he hoped government action would ensure this takes place.

Mark Leaper, Head of media and public affairs at the Moneymatchmaker.com said recently that it is unrealistic to expect everyone to avoid spending heavily on their cards when the economy is in such flux and with Christmas not long past, it is no wonder that credit card debt problems are being faced by a large percentage of the UK population.