THE nastiest card sharks are those who play with plastic—they’re not East End gangsters but bankers in pinstripes.

Your credit card carries a lethal range of hidden charges that bludgeon you with interest and leave your bank account bleeding.

The credit crunch means it’s more difficult to get cheap new credit to which you can shift debts. But if you’re stuck in a debt rut, simply repay the RIGHT way to save overall.

This means it’s all the more important NOW to fight back with my five golden REPAYMENT rules.

1. Repay the highest interest rate debt first

IF you’ve more than one credit card with debts, make a list of all the interest rates. Many people mistakenly try and pay off each card equally or focus on the card with the biggest debt.

Instead, devote all your spare cash towards repaying the one with the highest interest rate. This means you make only the minimum monthly repayments on everything else.

Then, when you’ve repaid the costliest card, turn your sights to the second highest debt and so on. It’s called snowballing, as the amount you save gets bigger and bigger as it rolls on down the cards.

And it means interest doesn’t build up as quickly, so more of your money repays the actual debt.

2. DANGER! Credit card minimum repayments

UNLESS, as above, you’ve a load of cards and are snowballing debts away, the most dangerous thing is just paying the minimum monthly repayment.

This is a vile yet cunning invention by banks designed to keep you in debt FOREVER as you only ever pay off a tiny fixed percentage of your debt each month, barely covering the interest.

As a typically horrific example, imagine you had £3,000 stuck on a high-street card at 17.9 per cent interest. Pay just the minimum, which is usually two per cent of the outstanding debt, and it would take you a staggering 41 YEARS to repay in full, with an interest bill of £6,300.

You can see how long it will take with a special calculator at www.moneysavingexpert.com/minrepayments.

Yet I’ve a trick that can save you THOUSANDS. Even if you’re thinking, “I can’t afford to pay any more”, all it involves is fixing your repayment at the level of the minimum payment in the first month as we know you can afford this, then sticking to it.

Using the example above, as the minimum is 2%, the first month costs £60. Pay this every month and you’d clear your debt within seven years and save more than £4,000 interest. For it to work though DON’T whack any more on the card.

3. Repay by Direct Debit

MISS or make a late repayment and not only will you be stung with a nasty £12 fine, you’ll also suffer a HUGE dent in your credit rating and, worse, lose any cheap credit or 0 per cent deal you’re on.

To make sure this NEVER happens, set up a monthly direct debit either for a fixed sum or the minimum repayment. Then pay more off on top each month by phone or online as well, to clear it quickly. Having the security of a direct debit in place will ensure you never get stung.

4. Check before repaying credit cards from overdrafts

IF you’re in debt BOTH on a credit card and with an overdraft, always compare the interest rates. Overdrafts often cost more than the credit cards, so paying lots off your plastic at 12 per cent from a bank account charging 17 per cent makes NO sense.

In effect, you’re simply shifting the debt to a MORE expensive interest rate. And make sure you don’t incur overdraft charges—they’re more expensive than any interest cost.

5. Don’t nearly repay, FULLY repay

WITH almost every credit card, pay it off in full at the end of the month and there’s NO interest to pay.

But pay back everything except a few pence and some will charge interest on the WHOLE amount.

So if you’re close to repaying in full, try and find the extra little bit of cash.

THERE’S one other repayment nightmare, but the only way to protect yourself from it is not to get stuck in the first place.

If a credit card allows you to shift debt to it at a cheap rate, such as 0 per cent for a year, that rate often won’t apply if you use the same card to buy goods. That debt will usually be around 17 per cent.

When you then try and repay, almost every card—barring Nationwide’s—shovels all your money towards clearing the cheap debt leaving your expensive debt trapped at a high interest rate, costing a fortune.

So NEVER, EVER, EVER spend on a card where you’ve done a cheap balance transfer. If you need to spend, use a DIFFERENT card. This way, you can choose to pay off the costly debt first yourself.

Your questions answered

Q YOU mentioned recently that Asda “smiley” vouchers were given out when a promotion’s stock had run out so customers could get the offer at a later date. My partner asked for one but the customer service desk said they had never heard of them. Can you help clear this up? DARREN WILD, by email

A THIS is one of scores of questions on the same issue. Some supermarkets have a discretionary mechanism they can use if deals have run out. I’ve double checked with Asda who said: “All our colleagues are empowered to make small goodwill gestures to really wow customers. They should all carry 4 x 25p smiley vouchers with them at all times and happily offer them to customers when the occasion permits.” However it is up to the individual stores, and it seems from your feedback some ain’t that Smiley.

Q AFTER reading your column about special gas and electricity rates for people on pension credit, I told my mum but her provider said this won’t start until the end of the year. Is this correct? CHRISTINE STEVENSON, by email.

A WHILE many companies offer them, it’s not an obligation, and sometimes special tariffs can be more expensive than switching to a company’s online tariff. So check and compare first. One exception is the British Gas Essentials tariff, which has guaranteed a price freeze until next April and is likely to be very competitive over that time. For more info go to www.moneysavingexpert.com/gaselec .

TV money guru Martin Lewis is the creator of the Consumer Revenge website MoneySavingExpert.com , packed with information on how to get more money in your pocket. packed with information on how to get more money in your pocket.