Finances are really beginning to bite people hard. In the past six months credit customers have had to fork out nearly £50m to card providers for fines for missing payments, and this is despite the fact that credit companies have drastically cut their penalty fees.

There have been nearly 4.1 million card payments missed so far in 2007, which works out to an average of 694,506 each month. These days card companies tend to charge only £12 for a missed payment, following a long campaign against high charges and the subsequent investigation by the Office of Fair Trading. Fees used to be double their current level.

Moneyexpert.com prompted the research and chief executive Sean Gardner, commented: “This is the latest evidence of how many people are struggling to cope as interest rates start to rise. Missing a credit card payment comes at a financial cost of £12 a time and if you are already struggling to meet your monthly bills that will just add to the pressure. And there are other costs to consider. The effect of missing one credit card payment can last as long as three years. That is how long the mistake will stay on your credit file and it will be used by firms to decide whether they're going to lend you cash and what they're going to charge. Someone with a poor credit rating will be charged more and may get turned down when they want to borrow. Anyone in trouble needs to take action now because the situation will only get worse if they bury their heads in the sand. They need to get their debts under control and cut their spending."

It seems that those in the 25 to 34 age group are most likely to miss payments, with around 13% having missed at least one payment in the past six months. Around 11% of people have missed payments in the Midlands and Wales, while the Scots do rather better, with only 5% having missed a payment.