Quarterly Survey Results: January 2011

How Consumers Plan to Pay Off Holiday Debt

A new Credit.com survey conducted by GfK Research found 60% of consumers plan to pay off their holiday debt in full; which is up from 45% in January 2010. This is the time of year that consumers are starting to get the bills from their holiday spending and here’s how they intend to deal with holiday debt:

• 59.4% say they will pay it off
• 12.8% plan to pay it down, but carry a balance
• 25.9% say they don’t have any holiday debt

Marketing Credit Cards to Students: Should Young Consumers (Under 18) Have a Credit Card?

New regulations restrict credit card companies from marketing cards to young people. A new Credit.com quarterly survey conducted by GfK Research found nearly 9 out of 10 consumers think someone under 18 should not be entitled to a credit card on their own:

• 88% say young people should NOT be entitled to a credit card on their own
• 12% say young people should be entitled to a credit card on their own
  

Employer Credit Checks: Should They Be Banned?

Employers have the right, with your permission, to check your credit report as part of background screening for employment. A number of lawmakers are interested in banning this practice. A new Credit.com quarterly survey conducted by GfK Research found most consumers agree that this practice should be banned:

• 53% agree with a proposed ban on this practice
• 38% are OK with allowing this practice to continue

 

Yearly Credit Checks: Have You Checked Your Credit in the Last 12-Months?

In light of the new push by lawmakers to give consumers better access to their credit, a new quarterly survey by Credit.com conducted by GfK Research finds that while 50% of consumers have checked their credit in the past year, 48% have never checked their credit or haven’t checked it in more than a year.

The survey found:

• 50% of consumers have checked their credit in past year
• 26.7% have not checked their credit for more than a year
• 21.4% have never checked their credit

CARD Act: Credit Card Account Changes

The Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights (CARD Act) is now law, but according to a new survey from Credit.com, more than 36% of consumers say their card company has still made one or some combination of the following changes to a credit card account: 

• Increased their interest rate 20%
• Increased their minimum payment due 14%
• Increased their fees 15%
• Lowered their credit limit 8%
• Changed due date 10%
• Reduced their rewards program 7%
• Closed their account 6%

Online Tracking: Americans Understand It And They Don’t Like It

According to our latest survey, 3 out of 4 consumers, 74% say they are aware that there is a very strong likelihood that programs on their computer track their behavior and personal details, which despite their best efforts are very difficult to delete or disable.

• 74% say they are aware they are being tracked
• 26% say they are NOT aware they are being tracked

And 80% of consumers say they are not willing to tolerate data tracking programs, even if it means they might get cheaper prices or better matched with goods and services they want.

The new Credit.com survey conducted by GfK research found:

• 17% willing to tolerate
• 80% not willing to tolerate

This national RDD Probability Sample telephone poll was conducted for Credit.com by GfK Custom Research North America from January 14-16, 2011.  A total of 1,011 interviews were completed, with roughly 510 female adults and 501 male adults. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points for the full sample.