New research released today indicates that the majority of credit statements used around the world mask the true level of debt being racked up by unsuspecting consumers thanks to major design flaws within the documents.

“Consumers have been lulled into a false sense of security, that they are operating their credit card to the best of their ability based on the information they are being given on their statement,” says Professor Sless, Director of the Communication Research Institute, “but the study has found that these statements are virtually incomprehensible.  This is frightening news particularly when you consider that globally consumers have accumulated more than $US40 trillion in credit card debt.”

The international study, undertaken by the Communication Research Institute, tested credit statements from Australia, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, UK and the USA and found that the statements could not be used to find out how much credit was run up on the credit card, how long it would take to pay it back, the ‘pay by’ date for each month, how much extra it’s going to cost in interest payments, and what happens if people miss a payment.