Credit cards are a necessary evil in the diminishing cash world we inhabit, but so many of us don’t control the beast, bending over and paying without argument the extravagant fees and high interest demanded.

Currently there is over $32 billion in credit card debt in Australia accruing interest, according to Reserve Bank statistics, although many of these card users are completely unaware of the interest rate impact their personal debt attracts.

CoreData research reports 26 per cent of card holders have no idea what their current interest rate is, with a further 13 per cent of fantastic plastic users not knowing what fees and charges are applicable to their card.

Close to three quarters of recipients (73 per cent) consider card charges as not fair or a rip off, yet many of the charges are simply down to poor card behaviour, with 45 per cent of respondents admitting they have been stung by fees for simply paying too late.

Less than half of respondents (43 per cent) admitted the ability to be able to pay off their card each month, with 12 per cent really struggling, only being able to pay the minimum repayment on a monthly basis.

Over 16 per cent have no idea how many interest free days they have before interest begins to accrue, with 28 per cent unsure if their rate has reduced in the last six months, as interest rates on other lending products have tumbled.

If we continue to live in the buy now pay later world, banks will simply sit back and keep lending us the money, at a highly inflated rate of course.