CONSUMERS have been urged not to fall into the Christmas debt trap.

Debt accounted for almost 40 per cent of all inquiries dealt with last year by the Sedgefield and District Citizens' Advice Bureau.

The service in the borough handled more than £6.3m of debt from 537 client cases with 3,123 debts, an average of almost six debts per clients.

Bureau chiefs have warned consumers that tempting credit offers, particularly at this time of year, may not be all they seem.

The CAB nationally has seen consumer debt problems increase by 47 per cent over the last five years.

Steve Wakefield, Sedgefield CAB manager, said: "All too often we see how for many people high cost credit turns into serious debt. At this time of the year, with the pressure on to buy more and spend more, it's all too easy to miss the small print or sign up to deals that you wouldn't normally consider.

"We wanted to take this opportunity to remind people what to look out for when considering taking out credit, so that hopefully they won't be counting the cost of Christmas 2003 for years to come."

The CAB has provided a list of tips on how to avoid Christmas debt traps.

* If you need to use credit, shop around for the lowest rate and compare terms.

* Read the terms and conditions of any agreement.

* Work out the total amount payable over the term of the loan, bearing in mind that some may have a variable interest rate, and make sure the monthly payments are within your budget.

* Interest free credit deals can work to your advantage as long as you pay off the balance before the period expires - failure to do so will result in high interest rates.

* Many store cards charge high interest, so make sure you can pay the account in full at the end of the month.

* Don't be tempted to buy toys from catalogues as they usually work out more expensive.

Anyone who does get into difficulty should get advice from the CAB.

Advice session times and venues in Sedgefield borough can be found by calling 0870 121 2024 or by logging on to www.cab-spennymoor.co.uk